Bitcoin Recovers, Rises 10 Percent

Bitcoin extended its recovery in holiday-thinned trading on Tuesday, rising 10% to be up more than a third from last week’s lows of below $12,000.

Bitcoin, the world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, fell nearly 30% at one stage on Friday to $11,159.93 and, despite a late recovery, had its worst week since 2013. On Tuesday, it was quoted around $15,049 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, Reuters reported.

The digital currency had risen around twentyfold since the start of the year, climbing from less than $1,000 to as high as $19,666 on Dec. 17 on Bitstamp and to over $20,000 on other exchanges. But it has posted heavy declines since.

While bitcoin investors and analysts believe the decline in its value was a natural correction after a heady run-up in prices, there have been further warnings from market regulators and central banks.

“There is no right current price which would reflect the right current valuation,” said Andrei Popescu, Singapore-based co-founder of COSS, which describes itself as a platform that encompasses all features of a digital economy based on cryptocurrency.

“Taking profit is right, while buying into a long term projection is also right. You don’t have to be right in this market, just less wrong than the rest,” Popescu said.

Singapore’s central bank last week issued a warning against investment in cryptocurrencies, saying it considers the recent surge in their prices to be driven by speculation and that the risk of a sharp fall in prices is high.

Prices of rival cryptocurrencies, which slid along with bitcoin last week, have also recovered, with Ethereum, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market size, quoted around $771, up from Sunday’s low of $689 but still far from highs around $900 hit last week.