The price of bitcoin(BTC)moved past $41,000 during the Monday business day in Asia, for the first time since April 2022 –prices not seen before the crash of Terra– while Ether(ETH)moved past $2,200.

Bitcoin’s price had been toying with the $40,000 level in recent days, but finally breached it Monday to trade above $41,400 as of press time, according toCoinDesk Indicies data, a 24-hour rise of about 5%. Etherwas trading hands at $2,240,a similar percent rise over the past 24 hours.

The other top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization marked smaller gains, though BNB coin(BNB), a token affiliated with the Binance exchange, was down about 0.1% over the past day.

The price of the world’s largest and oldest cryptocurrencyfell below $40,000 in April 2022but has been rallying over the past few months largely due to seeminglydovish comments from U.S. central bankersand hopes that a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) may be approved to launch in the country.

Ether had similarly not traded hands above $2,200 since May 2022, though it's come close a few times.

Bitcoin holders withdrew 37,000 BTC between Nov. 17 and Dec. 1, suggesting they were taking direct custody of their coins, CoinDesk reported earlier this week.

Bitcoin's move above $40,000 comes as gold hit a record high of over $2,100 per ounce during the early Asian trading hours in response to dovish comments from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.

“The market is increasingly expecting a rate cut in the coming year, and investors are increasingly bullish on the outlook of Bitcoin ETF applications by some of the biggest names in asset management,” wrote Lucy Hu, Senior Analyst, Metalpha, in a note. "This is an official statement of a bull run, and the price could see more upticks in the coming weeks.”

Last week, Powell said that interest rates are now well into restrictive territory, bolstering the narrative that the tightening cycle has peaked and adding to downward pressure on Treasury yields.

“Crypto, on the other hand, has been moving nicely higher, along with Gold, on the back of lower yields,” crypto data provider Amberdata said in a newsletter Sunday.

“Bitcoin has been eager to jump higher, even without the Spot ETF catalysts headline hitting the wires, the market is looking to get long,” Amberdata added.

Traders have loaded up on topside option plays in recent weeks,bettingon bitcoin’s eventual rise to $45,000 by the end of March 2024.

The week ahead will bring U.S. ISM services PMI data and non-farm payrolls for December. A strong NFP figure might result in the unwinding of Fed rate cut bets for 2024, slowing BTC’s ascent.