Bitcoin has passed the $4,000 mark, and this gives fresh hope to investors and enthusiasts who have endured the bear market for more than a year. This is the second weekend the bitcoin price has rallied.
Bitcoin (BTC) Price Today – BTC / USD
| Name | Price | 24H % |
|---|---|---|
 | $0.00 | -0.15% |
Bitcoin price analysis
Bitcoin price rose from $3,900 today to close to $4,100 according to Bitstamp. This has also pushed the market cap of the digital currency to more than $70 billion. Also, the general market cap is at $140 billion.
The sudden price leap of the digital currency comes after one week of positive news for bitcoin. Some include the news Samsung phone with a crypto wallet, new network upgrades and tech billionaires.
The price of Ethereum also got a spike and rose by about 6%. Other top cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, XRP, and EOS added 5% to their value.
Bitcoin has struggled to surpass its long-running bear market this year and traders and investors are desperately trying to predict a bottom this tumbling market. The digital currency market has seen a fall by over $400 billion in one year.
In December 2017, the price hit its all-time high of $20,000 but has not been able to pick up again, dropping as low as almost $3,000.
What caused the rally?
eToro’s senior market analyst, Mati Greenspan, believes that the rally was caused by a shortage of supply of new Ethereum. He is also bullish about this rally. He said,
“We’ve been in the accumulation zone for a while now, and this latest push off the floor might just be enough to bring the market out of a slump, but there are several technical levels that need to be broken before that happens.”
Until the beginning of the year, the Ethereum network has been producing close to 20,000 to 30,000 new ether every day. Since the beginning of this year, the amounts have dropped to a meager13,000 per day.
Constantinople is on its way
In the coming week, the long-awaited Constantinople upgrade will be initiated. This upgrade will speed up the processing times, reduce, mining rewards from 3 to 2, and improve the way Ethereum monetizes data storage. It is the digital currency’s eighth hard fork.
Bullish comments by Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk
Crypto prices, in general, have been supported by several bullish statements, from the Jack Dorsey of Twitter and Elon Musk of Tesla.
Also, millionaire John McAfee stated that he expects BTC price to reach $1 million in less than two years.
He tweeted,
“People are waking up to the fact that Bitcoin will be $1,000,000… But when? ‘Someday’. ‘Maybe five years’. ‘Within a decade’. I’m the only one giving you a hard date: Dec 31st, 2020.”
JP Morgan also made the news for creating its own cryptocurrency in a bid to rival XRP of Ripple. This news has enlivened the market. The bank intends to use private digital tokens in reducing cost as well as speeding up international transfers. Previously, it was a critic of bitcoin as well as decentralized blockchains. This announcement can be interpreted as an endorsement of bitcoin’s technology.
Bitcoin bulls are confident that more developments will push the price higher in the future. So far, Intercontinental Exchange, Starbucks, Boston Consulting Group and Microsoft are collaborating with Bakkt, a new company which will promote bitcoin futures trading next year.
Also, in October, Fidelity Investments, an asset management company, unveiled Fidelity Digital Assets Services which will handle the safe storage of different digital assets such as bitcoin.
Princess Ogono is a writer, lawyer and fitness enthusiast. She believes cryptocurrencies are the future. When she's not writing, she spends time with her adorable cat, Ginger and works out often.
