Bitcoin tops $50,000 as BofA says crypto 'too large to ignore'

Bitcoin rallied above $50,000 as Bank of America Corp. strategists threw their weight behind crypto as a new asset class.

The rally brings prices to the highest since early September, when El Salvador rolled out the cryptocurrency as legal tender. Bitcoin was up 2.5% in early New York trading, and earlier touched $50,307.

The universe of digital assets is “too large to ignore,” wrote strategists including Alkesh Shah and Jessica Reif Ehrlich. “Our view is that there could be more opportunity than skeptics expect.”

The Bank of America report shows that enthusiasm for crypto is gaining traction on Wall Street despite its many controversies. Just last month, China issued a blanket ban on transactions and US financial watchdogs are investigating some of the biggest crypto exchanges.

In the eyes of Bank of America, more regulation could be a positive for crypto in the long run. Once rules are established, the uncertainty over how to invest in crypto will be lifted, the strategists wrote.

Bitcoin has been slowly making its way back to its previous highs after a meltdown in May that was triggered by China’s clampdown on crypto mining. Prices are up more than 60% since a low in July.