Investing.com -- Bitcoin turned positive Wednesday after a selloff to the $9,000 handle triggered a wave of buying.
Bitcoin rose 1.60% to $9,837, recovering from a slump to $9,082. The recovery from the $9,000 represents some recovery for bitcoin after heavy selling a day earlier, which had led some to suggest that a plunge below $8,000 could be in sight.
But those fears appear overblown somewhat as the popular crypto appears to be mounting a challenge to reclaim the key $10,000 price level – a move which would likely signal the bulls are not ready to call time.
Since the start of the rally that began in February, bitcoin has surged 186%, with many putting the rally down to an expected cut in bitcoin supply next year, dubbed the halvening, and growing interest from institutional as Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) works on the launch of its crypto Libra.
While many have struggled to highlight a clear reason for the recent selloff in bitcoin, some have pointed to the fears that U.S. lawmakers will use Facebook's testimony on the Capitol Hill for its Libra coin as an opportunity to bash cryptocurrencies.
Several lawmakers on Wednesday called on Facebook to halt its development until Congress and regulators had the opportunity to assess concerns around the social media company's cryptocurrency.
Still, the bounce in bitcoin led other cryptos higher. XRP rose 6.85% to $0.3167, Ethereum surged 6.80% to $214.61 and Litecoin soared 13.15% to $91.42.