Investing.com -- Bitcoin rallied above $11,000 on Monday and was set to notch its best day since mid-July as traders sought refuge in the popular crypto amid escalating U.S.-China trade tensions.
Bitcoin rose 7.94% to $11,847, about 2% below its recent end-of-day high of $12,541.50 reached on July 9.
The rally in the popular crypto has been widely attributed to a rise in geopolitical uncertainty, led by escalating U.S.-China trade tensions. The tensions led to an ugly rout of stocks globally on Monday. Some crypto proponents recently suggested bitcoin has become a safe-haven asset, offering protection during times of equity market turmoil.
“You can very clearly see some macro correlation there," CEO of Crypto payments Circle Jeremy Allaire said in an interview with CNBC on Aug. 5. "I think the broader theme of, you know, bitcoin specifically, crypto more broadly participating in these global macro forces is becoming more and more clear. Rising nationalism, rising amounts of currency conflict, trade wars, these all obviously are supportive of a non-sovereign, highly secure digital store of value.”
The sharp uptick in bitcoin was accompanied by a sea of green across cryptos, boosting the overall crypto market, often used to gauge demand, to $312 billion, up about 9% from Friday.
XRP rose 1.4% to $0.32497, Ethereum added 6.04% to $232.83 and Litecoin was up 6% to $98.83.