Central bank officials are increasingly predicting that interest rates will rise next year.
Bitcoin raced to $44,000 on Thursday on a day of recovery for the crypto markets.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency had a boost on Wednesday when the U.S. Federal Reserve announced it would be keeping interest rates near zero for the time being.
However, central bank officials are increasingly predicting that interest rates will rise next year — earlier than first thought.
A huge stimulus program that was launched in light of the coronavirus pandemic is also expected to be tapered down in the coming months.
Shares in Evergrande also surged ahead of Thursday’s deadline to pay $83.5 million in interest payments.
There had been fears that the Chinese property developer, which is sitting on a debt pile of $300 billion, would struggle to meet this obligation, putting it at risk of default.
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El Salvador Update
Pictures shared on Twitter showed long queues at Bitcoin ATMs in El Salvador.
Florence S. Olivares, who uploaded the photos, suggested that those waiting in line were trying to convert their crypto back into U.S. dollars.
While she suggested that the images are proof that the country’s Bitcoin Law has failed, others argued that Salvadorans now have greater freedom when it comes to moving money around — and are increasingly getting familiar with the infrastructure that’s in place.
Bitcoin became legal tender in El Salvador on September 7. Since then, its price has tumbled by 16.8%.
