SINGAPORE: Cryptocurrencies popped to the top of recent ranges on Monday as short-sellers bailed out in the wake of a strong week and traders hoped a handful of positive comments from influential investors might signal a turnaround in fragile sentiment, agencies report.

In Asian trade, Bitcoin rose as far as 12.5 per cent to hit $39,850, its highest since mid-June during the Asia session, while ether hit a three-week peak of $2,344. On the heels of Bitcoin’s best week in almost three months, the move put the squeeze on short sellers.

Last week, cryptocurrency enthusiast and Tesla boss Elon Musk said the carmarker would likely resume accepting Bitcoin once it conducts due diligence on its energy use. It had suspended such payments in May, contributing to a sharp crypto selloff. Twitter boss Jack Dorsey also said last week that the digital currency is a “big part” of the social media firm’s future and, there are also reports that Amazon is looking to accept Bitcoin payments by year’s end, according to agencies.

Bitcoin was last up 8 per cent at $38,064, putting it within sight of resistance around June’s $41,341.57 peak just a week after it was testing support at $29,500.

Ether was last up 5 per cent at $2,304.

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