March 20, 2023: On Friday, Cryptocurrencies resumed their march, rising above $26,000 for the second time.

Bitcoin was higher by 6.8% and trading at $26,709.00, according to Coin Metrics. It’s headed for its best week starting January 2021, right before the initial bull run that year.

Ether increased 3.5% to $1,744.24 and is on speed for its best week since August 2021.

On Friday, Prices kept increasing even as Dow and S&P 500 futures decreased, as traders digested the future of Credit Suisse. The bank’s fate is weighing on investors even following the embattled lender said it would borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs from the Swiss National Bank.

Yuya Hasegawa, an analyst at Japanese crypto company Bitbank, said a close over $26,000 for bitcoin could signal the starting of a bull market.

Investors are welcoming resilient crypto prices amid the banking crisis this week. Several large U.S. banks stepped on Thursday to aid it with $30 billion in deposits. The week started with the closures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank on Sunday, but attention was initially on the Republic Bank throughout the week.

Many have suggested bitcoin is undergoing a narrative shift during the banking crisis. However, inflation and Federal Reserve rate hikes still heavily influence the cryptocurrency’s price moves.

“I still don’t see enough evidence to think the Fed will back off its higher-for-longer stance, even if it stops hiking rates,” said Callie Cox, U.S. investment analyst at eToro. “High rates are tough for speculative crypto to survive in. I also think it’s important to understand how your investments make money and the risks. High rates can cull the herd, and the big could get bigger. We’re seeing that happen in the traditional banking system right now.”