Bitcoin extends volatility in climb back to $30,000

Bitcoin pushed its way back toward $30,000, extending a recent period of turbulence around the closely watched round-number level.

The largest token rose as much as 3.7% on Thursday to trade at $29,469.45, before paring the advance to around $28,930 as of 9:30 a.m. in New York. Smaller tokens including Ether, Cardano and Avalanche made gains too, reflecting a general buoyant sentiment across the crypto market. "We're seeing short positions getting liquidated into a market that exhibits thin order books, pushing up the Bitcoin price," said Stefan von Haenisch, head of sales trading at OSL SG Pte in Singapore.

On Thursday, Bitcoin had surged 7.3% but erased move and fell into the red, leaving investors scratching their heads - as is the case with swings in crypto prices. The retreat sparked a litany of speculation. The theories included the suggestion that a well-known trading firm was dumping bitcoin and that the US government was selling the cryptocurrency. Another claim was that tokens connected to the Mt Gox collapse may be reintroduced into market.