Bitcoin climbs to one-year high on Facebook crypto pact report

Sydney: Bitcoin climbed past $9,000, to its highest since May 2018, as reports that Facebook Inc. is due to unveil a digital currency added to optimism that cryptocurrencies are becoming more widely adopted by mainstream finance.

The largest digital currency rose as much as 9.4% from late Friday and traded at $9,191.38 at 1:45 p.m. Hong Kong time. Rival coins also climbed: Litecoin was up 4.4% and Ethereum rose 4%.

Crypto-linked stocks are also rising in Asia, with Remixpoint Inc. jumping as much as 9.9%. Monex Group Inc. and Ceres Inc. advanced at least 2% in Tokyo while Vidente Co. climbed as much as 8.4% in Seoul.