A Bitcoin ATM, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap that operates free of any central control and that relies on a peer-to-peer software and cryptography, on the BitBase stand during the Mobile World Congress 2023 on March 10, 2023, in Barcelona, Spain.

Joan Cros | Nurphoto | Getty Images

The price of bitcoin climbed on Monday as financial institutions continued to give their bitcoin blessing.

Bitcoin rose more than 5% to $28,002.18, its highest level since early May, according to Coin Metrics. Ether added 3.5% to trade at $1,782.99.

Sentiment has been high in crypto since late last week, when BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world filed an application for what would be the first ever spot bitcoin ETF in the U.S. The application came a week after the Securities and Exchange Commission sued two of the biggest crypto exchanges, Binance and Coinbase. Many have speculated about the timing of BlackRock’s move, particularly with Coinbase as its crypto custody partner.

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Bitcoin – 1 month

Then Tuesday morning, a new crypto exchange backed by financial giants Charles Schwab, Fidelity Digital Assets and Citadel Securities announced that it has been live for several weeks trading bitcoin and ether.

Fidelity has been actively following along with crypto developments since 2014. In more recent years, the firm has opened the Fidelity Digital Assets division, created a commission-free retail investing app called Fidelity Crypto, and began offering 401(k) investors access to cryptocurrencies (an option that needs to be made available by employers).

Many financial incumbents are keen to show enthusiasm for blockchain technology and the ways it can advance old financial infrastructure. Most are quieter, however, about their views on crypto investing.

With big names like BlackRock and Fidelity putting their crypto commitments on display, investors were optimistic Tuesday that some of the reputational risk of conducting any kind of crypto business – which for some investors has been a mental barrier to buying bitcoin – could start to fade.

Bitcoin has struggled to break out of a narrow trading range this quarter but has yet to fall meaningfully under $25,000. Tuesday’s big move pushed its monthly gains into the green. It’s now up 69% this year.