Cryptocurrency prices on Monday were climbing, reversing last week’s tumble.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, was up 5.8% to $37,720 in premarket trading. Ethereum rose 5.7% to $2,408, while Dogecoin advanced 5.8% to 34 cents, according to Coingecko.
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Cryptocurrency prices tumbled last week following a statement from the People’s Bank of China that the digital coins weren’t “real currencies” and amid a general market pullback.
China reiterated a call for a crackdown on Bitcoin mining and trading, as the world’s second-biggest economy sought to ward off financial instability.
Meanwhile, Coinbase Global (COIN) shares were climbing nearly 3% Monday after analysts at Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange with a buy rating and a $306 price target.
In a research note, analyst Will Nance described Coinbase as “a leading consumer platform with strong customer acquisition trends as well as a robust and rapidly growing institutional business.”
Last week, Wedbush analysts initiated coverage of Coinbase with an outperform rating and a $275 price target.
Coinbase shares were hit hard last week amid all the cryptocurrency turmoil.
Analysts at JPMorgan said on Friday that “it is too early to call the end of the recent Bitcoin downtrend” according to Bloomberg. The investment firm cited in part momentum signals and a lack of buying in Bitcoin funds and regulated futures.
Tesla (TSLA) – Get Report Chief Executive Elon Musk has had a major influence on Bitcoin.
Musk said last week that Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin as payment for its vehicles because of the carbon footprint of the Bitcoin mining business. He didn’t say anything about the carbon footprint of his rocket company, SpaceX.
Musk recently tweeted that he wass working with dogecoin devs to develop more efficient transactions.
A number of analysts said that many other businesses are unlikely to want to accept Bitcoin as payment for their goods and services, given the cryptocurrency’s roller-coaster ride since its 2009 inception.
TheStreet’s Jim Cramer said it’s time for the Securities and Exchange Commission to consider cryptocurrency “an asset worth regulating.”
In his Real Money column, Here’s How We End the Crypto Madness, Cramer said “it’s imperative that either Yellen or Gensler say they are uncomfortable with all of the leverage they are seeing in the crypto markets.” He referred to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler.
Cramer tweeted that he wished the “real crypto bulls would clean house and discredit the joke cryptos.”
“The world divided between people who believe in crypto and people who don’t, and I think that’s wrong,” Cramer said.
“It should be divided among people who don’t believe in and people who believe in crypto, but not all crypto because some of the cryptos are just jokes.”
If you make it that some are jokes, Cramer added, “that’s good because you drive out all the ones who are jokes.”