- Bitcoin on Monday rose above $24,000 for the first time in August.
- Softening in US bond yields have boosted the cryptocurrency's price.
- Bitcoin's price has increased in August but is down 50% in 2022.
Bitcoin advanced to $24,000 for the first time in August, a move taking place before financial markets assess a high-profile reading of US inflation this week.
Bitcoin rose as much as 4% to $24,191.55, crossing that handle for the first time since July 31. The cryptocurrency has been struggling with a so-called crypto winter since November that's left its price down by roughly 50% in 2022.
The world's most valuable cryptocurrency showed improvement Monday as US stocks moved higher before turning choppy, and as US Treasury yields pulled back.
"Oil prices have weakened again, and this is providing drag on bond yields, which is supporting the likes of silver, bitcoin, Swiss franc and Japanese yen – currencies and commodities that carry very low or zero yield," Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Forex.com, said in an early Monday note.
US Treasury yields declined Monday after Friday's jump in the wake of the unexpectedly strong July payrolls report. The US economy added 528,000 jobs last month, highlighting potential inflation pressures at a time the Federal Reserve has been ramping up interest rates to cool consumer prices.
Yields fall when prices rise. The 10-year Treasury yield on Monday fell 6 basis points to 2.77%, and the 2-year Treasury yield slipped 3 basis points to 3.12%.
Bitcoin so far in August has picked up more than 3%, adding to July's surge of 19%. The digital asset gained ground last week following news that Coinbase is teaming up with asset manager BlackRock to help some its clients gain greater exposure to cryptocurrencies, starting with bitcoin.
Investors in bitcoin and other markets are waiting for a fresh read on US consumer price inflation, due Wednesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The July report may show headline inflation cooling to 8.7%, according to an Econoday consensus estimate. The CPI rose to 9.1% in June, the fastest inflation rate since November 1981, paced by food and energy increases.