Ether was marginally up as well and trading at $1,635.90

Crypto currency prices increased broadly on Monday, with bitcoin surpassing $27,000 for the first time this month.

Bitcoin was last higher by less than 1% at $26,685.97, according to Coin Metrics. Earlier it gained around 4% to $27,403.17. Ether was marginally up as well and trading at $1,635.90.

The reason for the move was not clear, although there was a spike in trading volume during opening hours in the Asian market, said Dessislava Aubert, senior research analyst at crypto data provider Kaiko.

In the present low liquidity environment, comparatively less buying and selling pressure could increase spot price movements and increase liquidations on derivatives markets, Aubert added.

The volume spike came after a report by Japan’s Nikkei over the weekend that the Japanese government intends to permit startups to sell digital tokens to venture capital (VC) funds apart from traditional assets such as shares and stock options.

Overall, we anticipate volatility this week ahead of several big central bank meetings, she said.

The moves coincide with a rising stock market prior to the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, which is set to conclude this Wednesday. Traders are assigning a 99% possibility that the Fed keeps interest rates as they are and just a 31% chance of a hike in November, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which gauges pricing in the fed funds futures market.

Bitcoin is coming off its first back-to-back weekly gains since May in spite of bearish sentiment among investors. Its 50-day moving average started turning lower in August and recently dropped below its 200-day moving average. While crypto traders are usually not moved by short-term volatility, the trend has caused some to worry that long-term momentum may be breaking.

Monday’s moves bring bitcoin’s monthly gain to 4%.