GME - Bitcoin's Price Rises Above $21000 Outperforms Stocks To Start New Year

The price of %Bitcoin (), the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has risen above $21,000 U.S. per share and continues to outperform stocks and other asset classes to start the New Year.

Bitcoin has now gained 25% since the start of January as the current rally gathers steam. It is a stark reversal for Bitcoin, which trended lower for most of 2022 and whose price was below $16,000 U.S. at the end of November last year.

Other cryptocurrencies, notably %Ethereum (), are also rallying. The price of Ethereum is now $1,540.00, up 28% since the first trading day of the year.

The gains seen in Bitcoin and Ethereum are trouncing the increases in equities, with the benchmark S&P 500 index up 5% to begin 2023. %Cryptocurrencies are also outperforming other assets such as gold and the U.S. dollar.

The rally comes as more than $5 billion U.S. in assets have been recovered at bankrupt crypto exchange %FTX , and as rival exchange Binance manages to avoid becoming insolvent itself.

In 2022, the price of Bitcoin declined nearly 60% while Ethereum’s value decreased 55%.

The renewed interest in digital coins and tokens comes as several popular meme stocks, including video game retailer %GameStop (), movie theatre chain %AMCEntertainment (), and household décor retailer %BedBath&Beyond () also rally.

In the last week, shares of GameStop and AMC each rose more than 20% while Bed Bath & Beyond’s stock gained more than 100% as retail traders execute a short squeeze on the securities.