Bitcoin surges above $51,000, ether, dogecoin also gain. Check cryptocurrency prices today

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin prices today continued to extend gains after passing the $50,000 mark for the first time in four weeks on Tuesday and adding to gains this month on mounting institutional interest. The world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was trading 4% higher at around $51,355. 

Ether, the coin linked to ethereum blockchain and the second largest crypto, was up 3% to $3,500, as per CoinDesk. Cardano prices gained marginally to $2.22 whereas dogecoin surged nearly 5% to $0.24. Other digital tokens like Stellar, Litecoin gained Solana, Uniswap slipped over the last 24 hours. 

"After an agonizing September, Ethereum recovered strongly and broke the previous descending channel pattern. ETH could test its resistance at $3500. As the market turns favorable, the trend looks set to hit $4,000. It has also been noted that institutional investors are now pumping more money into Ethereum than Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency market saw a decent performance boost during the first week of October. The RSI indicator has amplified this trend as many DEFI tokens have seen huge gains," said Siddharth Menon, COO of WazirX.

On Tuesday, US Bancorp announced that it launched a cryptocurrency custody service for institutional investment managers who have private funds in the United States and Cayman Islands. 

Earlier this week, Bank of America Corp published its first research coverage focused on cryptocurrencies and other digital assets as other mainstream financial institutions strengthen their involvement with the asset class.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrency investment products and funds recorded inflows for a seventh straight week, as institutional investors warmed to more supportive statements from regulators, data from digital asset manager CoinShares showed.

Bitcoin had fallen below the crucial $50,000 mark in early September during a broad selloff. Its prices declined further in September, hitting a low of $40,596 on September 21.

(With inputs from agencies)