Bitcoin bounces above $20,000 for first time in about a week

• Bitcoin broke above $20,000 for first time in about a week.
• Bitcoin was up more than 5% at $20,286. 
• Ether rose 4% to a one-week high of $1,389.

Bitcoin broke above $20,000 on Tuesday for the first time in about a week, as cryptocurrencies bounced, along with other risk-sensitive assets, in Asian trade.

The biggest cryptocurrency by market value, bitcoin, was up more than 5% at $20,286. The second-biggest, Ether, rose 4% to a one-week high of $1,389.

In the broader market, the dollar eased slightly after soaring to fresh heights on Monday.

"Bitcoin miners have continued to watch margins compress — the price of bitcoin has fallen, mining difficulty has risen and energy prices have soared," said Joe Burnett, head analyst at Blockware Solutions.

That's put serious pressure on some players who bought expensive mining machines, or rigs, banking on rising bitcoin prices to recoup their investment.

US and European stocks tumbled on Friday Sept 23, the dollar scaled a 22-year high and bonds sold off again as fears grew that a central bank prescription of raising interest rates to tame inflation will drag major economies into recession.

The Dow narrowly missed confirming a bear market as a deepening downturn in business activity across the eurozone, and US business activity contracting for a third straight month in September, left Wall Street wallowing in a sea of red.

The British currency and debt prices weakened further after the UK government announced huge debt-financed tax cuts that will boost borrowing, sending UK bond yields vaulting higher in their biggest daily increases in decades. 

The euro plummeted to a 20-year low and sterling to a 37-year low, while the dollar soared after the Federal Reserve this week signalled rates would be higher for longer.