LONDON, April 26 — Bitcoin jumped as much as 8 per cent today and was on course to snap five straight days of losses, though the cryptocurrency has slumped almost a fifth from its all-time high hit earlier this month.

Bitcoin was last up 6.7 per cent at US$52,452 (RM215,221) after touching its lowest since early March yesterday. Other major coins ethereum and XRP, which tend to move in tandem with bitcoin, were up around 5 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.

Cryptocurrencies fell sharply on Friday on concern that US President Joe Biden’s plan to raise capital gains taxes would curb investments in digital assets, though they later recovered some of their losses.

Bitcoin has lost over 19 per cent from its April 14 record of almost US$65,000. Still, the cryptocurrency has risen over 80 per cent this year, fuelled by growing adoption from mainstream investors and companies such as Tesla Inc. — Reuters