Bitcoin (BTC) price rises above $ 30,000

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies recovered on Wednesday after a sharp sell-off, with the world’s largest digital coin rising above $ 30,000.

The price of bitcoin has risen nearly 4% in the past 24 hours, reaching $ 30,798 at 5:25 a.m. ET, according to data from Coin Metrics. The smaller ether and XRP cryptocurrencies also rebounded, up around 7% and 3% respectively.

The crypto market saw strong sales on Tuesday, with bitcoin falling below the $ 30,000 mark for the first time since June 22.

The plunge came following news that the New Jersey attorney general has issued a cease-and-desist letter to cryptocurrency lender BlockFi, ordering it to stop offering interest-bearing accounts.

The reason for Wednesday’s hike was not immediately clear. Cryptocurrencies are often subject to sharp price fluctuations. Bitcoin, for example, hit an all-time high of nearly $ 65,000 in April before halving in the months that followed.

Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia-Pacific at cryptocurrency exchange Luno, said Wednesday’s price move was likely a “dead cat rebound,” where an asset briefly recovers from a prolonged decline before continuing to slide.

Unless bitcoin breaks above $ 32,000, Ayyar expects more decline, with the highest cryptocurrency possibly falling to $ 24,000.

“We also saw some big market rallies last night, and I think crypto is just playing on that,” Ayyar told CNBC.

“In general, there are many macroeconomic factors currently weighing on risky assets – concerns about inflation, Covid, and with crypto, we have more specific concerns such as much greater regulatory oversight.”

Cryptocurrencies are on a downward trajectory amid a growing industry crackdown by regulators around the world.

In China, authorities have sought to stamp out crypto mining, the process that validates transactions and produces new coins. Meanwhile, Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, faces increasing pressure from regulators in the UK, Italy and elsewhere.