November 30, 2021: -Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies climbed Monday after a sharp sell-off at the end of last week.

According to Coin Metrics data, the price of bitcoin surged back above $57,000 in morning trade, rising by $57,373. It pared gains later in the day, the last trading at around $57,038, up 5% over the previous 24 hours.

Other digital assets also surged, with ether increasing over 5% to $4,321 and XRP up over 4% at around 97 cents.

Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia Pacific at cryptocurrency exchange Luno, reports that the new, heavily-mutated omicron Covid variant that came with milder symptoms was boosting the market.

“We see news of the variant being potentially weaker in terms of symptoms in analysis that bolstered the market comeback,” Ayyar said via email. “Hence, smart investors have bought this dip.”

Since early October, Bitcoin sank as low as $53,549, its down level amid a broader sell-off in stocks and different riskier assets on the back of fears over the coronavirus variant.

The world’s largest digital currency was briefly down more than 20% from its recent all-time high of nearly $69,000, officially entering the bear market territory. Bear markets are defined by a decline of 20% or more from the highs.

The new Covid variant, first identified in South Africa, has spread to multiple countries, which include the U.K., Germany, and Italy.

The U.S., the U.K., and other nations have restricted travel with some African countries in response. Britain has introduced new measures to tackle the new virus mutation, including mandatory mask-wearing in shops and public transport in England.

On Sunday, Dr. Angelique Coetzee, the South African doctor who spotted the omicron variant, said its symptoms as “extremely mild,” soothing fears of a potential return of lockdown restrictions in the holidays.

“The global environment did add to the uncertainty across all risk asset classes as we saw in the previous week, but the bounce back always shows us how strong the uptrend is, which is what we’re seeing here,” Ayyar said.

If bitcoin is losing $48,000 to $50,000 on a daily or weekly basis, “that would imply bearishness,” he added. But for now, Ayyar says, “we’re still in the bull market territory.”