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The comments might signal more hesitation in providing fresh monetary stimulus. Bitcoin prices quadrupled last year and have rallied 66% this year on speculation the cryptocurrency could serve as an inflation hedge in the face of trillions of dollars of money printing by central banks around the world.

As of press time, bitcoin (BTC, -5.44%) was changing hands around $48,336, down about 4% on the day.

Powell said in a question-and-answer session with the Wall Street Journal he doesn’t expect higher inflation to persist and that the central bank is still “a long way from our goals” of an economic recovery and lower unemployment.

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury note climbed on Thursday above 1.5%, as disappointment spread among some traders in traditional markets who had bet the Fed might provide specifics on how to tamp down long-term interest rates, according to Bloomberg News.

For bitcoin traders who have been betting the cryptocurrency’s price is a good hedge against potential currency debasement, Powell’s comments offered few signs the Fed plans new dovish actions. Such moves might include expanding the U.S. central bank’s $120 billion-a-month bond-purchasing program.

“Powell did not deliver,” the cryptocurrency trader Alex Kruger tweeted. “Basically repeated his usual dovish lines.”

Stocks were lower on Thursday, also potentially reflecting dimmed expectations of more stimulus that might boost the equities market.

McGlone wrote in a March outlook report that a recent drop below zero in the so-called Grayscale premium – a closely watched metric in cryptocurrency markets – could signal that last week’s swift 21% sell-off to about $43,000 might have reset the market for a fresh run. As of Thursday, prices had rebounded to about $50,000.

The Grayscale premium refers to the difference between price of bitcoin as implied by cost of shares in the publicly-traded Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), and the price of bitcoin as traded on cryptocurrency exchanges. Historically, it’s been positive. For a story on the Grayscale premium flipping negative, go here. (Grayscale is a unit of Digital Currency Group, which also owns CoinDesk.)

McGlone wrote in a March outlook report that a recent drop below zero in the so-called Grayscale premium – a closely watched metric in cryptocurrency markets – could signal that last week’s swift 21% sell-off to about $43,000 might have reset the market for a fresh run. As of Thursday, prices had rebounded to about $50,000.

The Grayscale premium refers to the difference between price of bitcoin as implied by cost of shares in the publicly-traded Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), and the price of bitcoin as traded on cryptocurrency exchanges. Historically, it’s been positive. For a story on the Grayscale premium flipping negative, go here. (Grayscale is a unit of Digital Currency Group, which also owns CoinDesk.)

Bitcoin rose 5% on Wednesday to just above $50,000, and traders are speculating whether the move represents a resumption of this year’s powerful bull market or simply a rebound following last week’s steep plunge to around $43,000.     

The largest cryptocurrency is now up 10% so far in March, and a gain this month would mark the sixth straight monthly increase, the first time that’s happened in seven years.

Read more: Why Cisco Should Buy Bitcoin 

As of 21:00 UTC (4 p.m. ET), bitcoin was changing hands just above $51,000 on Coinbase. The largest cryptocurrency is still well off its all-time-high price above $58,000 reached late last month. 

“A week is a long time in crypto: A $43,000 print and the retracement seen last week may as well have happened 6 months ago,” Matt Blom, head of sales and trading for the digital-asset exchange firm EQUOS, wrote on Wednesday. “If the market can hold above support at $47,850, then a continued push at higher prices is the likely outcome.”

Market analyst Joseph Young tweeted the latest breach of $50,000 has come with signs the market is rejuvenated, with derivative-funding costs returning to normal from last week’s elevated levels, few signs of overcrowding in the futures market and blockchain data showing that institutional investors are preparing to hold for the long term. 

In other words, the market now appears to have fully reset after last week’s comedown, which might make a fresh rally more sustainable.

Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, rose along with bitcoin on Wednesday. It reached around $1,650, climbing 7% in 24 hours as of 21:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET).

One potentially troubling sign: Despite the asset’s strong performance to start the month, shareholders of Grayscale’s ether trust don’t appear so bullish. The difference between the price of ether, as implied in prices for the Grayscale vehicle, and spot cryptocurrency prices turned negative on Tuesday after briefly flipping positive earlier this week. 

Read more: ETH: Technology Play or Store of Value? A CoinDesk Research Report

According to data from Skew, the Grayscale ether trust had a premium of -4.62%, possibly a sign that investors are cashing out of their shares even as ether buyers accumulate via spot markets or other investment vehicles. (Grayscale is a unit of Digital Currency Group, which owns CoinDesk.)   

Another explanation could be that the negative premium represents increased competition among providers of publicly traded ether products. An application was recently filed in Canada for what would be North America’s second ether ETF, CoinDesk reported Tuesday. 

Along with ether, decentralized finance assets were in the green on Wednesday. The sector gained an aggregate 9.5%, according to data from Messari.

Digital assets on the CoinDesk 20 are up on Wednesday. Notable winners as of 21:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET):

Equities:

Read more: Enjin to Tackle Soaring Gas Fees, Scaling With New Blockchain Products

Commodities:

Treasurys:

The top cryptocurrency by market value is trading near $10,950 at press time – up 3.86% in 24 hours – having dropped from record highs above $58,000 to $43,000 in late February, according to CoinDesk 20 data.

“The correction looks to have ended with a move above $50,000,” John Ng Pangilinan, managing partner at Singapore-based Signum Capital, told CoinDesk. Securing a foothold above that level is key to the resumption of the broader uptrend and a move toward new record highs, he said.

Bitcoin’s latest break above the psychological hurdle looks sustainable, as the futures market is in a far more healthy state than in mid-February when excess bullish leverage was seen. Further, institutional demand remains strong, as highlighted by the recent outflows from cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Pro.

“This time it’s at $50k with default funding, no overcrowded futures market, spot market parity with futures, and high Coinbase premium, coupled with large outflows and institutional interest,” market analyst Joseph Young tweeted.

The comments were echoed by Matthew Dibb, COO and co-founder of Stack Funds, who said the overall trend remains bullish, adding that a UTC close above $52,100 would pave the way for a move toward new lifetime highs above $58,332.

However, a new record high could remain elusive if the U.S. bond yields resume their recent rally, pushing stock markets lower, he said.

“From a fundamental perspective, we are still at the mercy of macro markets. Knee jerk reactions in the bond market and volatile equities may continue to prove ‘risk off’ correlations with Bitcoin,” Dibb told CoinDesk. “We remain extremely bullish but would not be surprised to see further volatility in the short term.”

Bitcoin and stocks faced selling pressure last week, as the U.S. 10-year bond yield surged to 12-month highs above 1.6% and investors priced in prospects of an early unwinding of monetary stimulus by the Federal Reserve.

Also read: Institutions Are Making Bullish Bets on Bitcoin Rallying to $75K by May – Or Even Higher

See also: Blockstream Buys $25M Worth of Bitcoin Mining Machines From MicroBT

The push past $50,000 came as the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s announced an official filing to list shares of VanEck’s BTC exchange-traded fund.

Trading volume was strong on Monday, as bitcoin’s price rose 9.7%, the most in three weeks, according to data from the Bitstamp exchange.

“We have seen an increase in cryptocurrency offerings from the largest investment banks including bitcoin research, custody, trading, and prime brokerage,” said Kyle Davies, co-founder of Three Arrows Capital. “I expect these offerings to grow as global investment banks embrace cryptocurrencies.”

Cryptocurrencies were up across the board alongside bitcoin, with stellar, XRP and ether also gaining.

The mood was mixed, with some traders expressing caution:

“We’ve seen lots of signs of cooling off in BTC — price decreasing, lower premiums, less volatility,” Sam Bankman-Fried told CoinDesk via Telegram on Monday. “That obviously doesn’t say for sure what will happen in the future though.”

In Asia markets, the ASX All Ordinaries Index is up 0.57%, the NIKKEI 225 Index is up 0.61% and the Hang Seng Index is also in the green, up 1.63% on the day.