Investing.com– Bitcoin rose on Wednesday, mildly extending overnight gains as traders remained cautiously optimistic over a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran, which appeared to be holding.
But gains in broader crypto markets cooled off after Tuesday’s rally, with traders still on edge over whether the ceasefire will continue to hold. This notion also spurred some profit-taking in major altcoins.
Bitcoin rose 0.7% to $106,160.1 by 01:29 ET (05:29 GMT).
Israel-Iran ceasefire caution persists, crypto markets skittish
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday evening announced a ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran, which now appeared to be holding up in the early hours of Wednesday.
While Trump had chided both countries for allegedly breaking the ceasefire on Tuesday, Tehran and Jerusalem appeared to have wound down their aerial strikes on each other by Wednesday.
Market focus was squarely on whether the deal will hold, given that renewed hostilities between the Middle Eastern powers had decimated risk appetite in the past week.
Crypto’s speculative nature left it particularly exposed to shifts in sentiment.
While Bitcoin did recoup some losses this week, it still remained within a $103,000 to $108,000 trading range seen through most of June.
Guotai Junan shares surge over 100% on HK crypto license
Shares of Chinese brokerage Guotai Junan International Holdings Ltd (HK:1788) more than doubled on Wednesday after the firm’s Hong Kong unit received regulatory approval to trade crypto assets.
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The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission granted the firm an upgraded license to provide crypto dealing services to its clients. The move allows the brokerage to further tap into Hong Kong’s rapidly growing crypto market.
While crypto is essentially banned in China, it is still legal in Hong Kong, allowing international and mainland investors to buy into the asset class through local brokers.
Last month, Hong Kong’s government passed a landmark stablecoin bill that introduced a regulatory framework for fiat-pegged stablecoin issuers.
Crypto price today: altcoins less upbeat
Broader crypto prices largely lagged Bitcoin on Wednesday, as a recent rebound in the sector ran out of steam.
World no.2 crypto Ether rose 0.5% to $2,433.45, while XRP was flat at $2.1818.
Solana rose 0.1%, while Cardano fell 1.8%.
Among meme tokens, Dogecoin fell 0.8%, while $TRUMP fell 2.1%.
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