Bitcoin shrugs off Russia crypto ban fears as BTC price nears $43.5K

Bitcoin (BTC) surged on the Wall Street open on Jan. 20 as news that Russia was planing to "ban" cryptocurrency failed to impact price performance.

BTC price climbs $2,500 in 24 hours

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD adding $1,500 over several hours on Thursday, continuing the upside move which began with a bounce off $41,000.

At the time of writing, the pair was acting above $43,000, having reached highs of $43,468 on Bitstamp.

That peak represented an eclipse of resistance immediately above the $43,000 mark, and invesetors are now watching to see whether Bitcoin can hit higher targets.

"A weekly close just like this (i.e. above ~$43,100) would be enough for BTC to build on this early bullish momentum and move higher," trader and analyst Rekt Capital argued in his latest Twitter update."

Bitcoin trying to break out of 2+ month-long downtrend pic.twitter.com/VaQynQgT05

Others zoomed out further, with fellow analyst William Clemente noting a possible breakout of a downtrend in place since early December.

The action came despite fresh desires to clamp down on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency more broadly from Russia's central bank, with comments calling for a blanket ban on circulation and usage as well as mining.

Unlike similar announcements — and reiterations of those announcements — by China, the market was entirely unfazed by the plans, something which was not lost on pundits.

"Russia is looking to repeat the mistakes of China," analyst and podcast host Scott Melker, known as the "Wolf of All Streets," reacted.

A $34 million hack of trading platform Crypto.com likewise failed to dent enthusiasm.

Altcoins seize a chance to move

Optimism also extended to altcoins as Bitcoin moved up, with Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL) and Terra (LUNA) leading the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap.

Related: Breaking ‘bear market’ in Bitcoin demand will spark next BTC price surge — Analysts

ETH/USD added around 3% on the day, making the chances of a $3,000 retest at least temporarily less likely.

"Very good movements on the markets," Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe summarized.