Bitcoin held onto its weekly gains as traders waited for US Congress to agree on the second coronavirus package on Tuesday.
The benchmark cryptocurrency added $67, or 0.5 percent, to trade near $11,827 ahead of the New York opening bell. Likewise, the US stocks inched higher in the pre-trading session, renewing its positive correlation with Bitcoin after the two decoupled briefly on Monday.
Bitcoin did its own thing after the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell opened up about the possibility of launching a digital dollar. Speaking at a panel discussion held by the International Monetary Fund, Mr. Powell noted that the Fed would launch its digital currency after assessing the security and regulatory risks associated with the upgrade.
Traders interpreted the news as further validation of Bitcoin and its underlying technology, the blockchain. As a result, they raised the bids for the cryptocurrency right around the time Mr. Powell delivering his speech. On the other hand, the Wall Street indexes, including the S&P 500, were trading lower.
