The price of Bitcoin has reached over $19,000 today for the first time since mid-December 2017. Since then, it briefly fell below the milestone mark before breaking back through it. Bitcoin's price has now reached $19,100.
The cryptocurrency is up 1.5% on the day, according to CoinMarketCap—and 13% in the last week.
“Back in March, I predicted that BTC could reach $50,000 by end-2020 and now there is increasing evidence of that upward trend. Markets like round numbers—Bitcoin passed $16,000, then $18,000 in a matter of days. The next stop is $20,000,” Antoni Trenchev, co-founder and managing partner at crypto platform Nexo, told Decrypt.
Bitcoin is the number one cryptocurrency by market cap. Image: Shutterstock.
He added that with companies such as MicroStrategy, Square and PayPal announcing their support for cryptocurrencies, “$50,000 by the end of this year is not at all unlikely.”
“This will be a record not driven by frenzy, but by the big, forward-thinking, finance and technology-savvy institutions that will push crypto into the mainstream,” Trenchev noted.
Bitcoin trading volumes are starting to pick up too. Last week on Wednesday, as Bitcoin broke the $18,000 mark, volumes rose considerably from $20-30 billion to $49 billion. Yesterday, volumes dropped somewhat to $42 billion—but are still higher than usual.
The institutional suits just can’t say “I own #Bitcoin.” But they do.
As Bitcoin’s price grows, so has its market capitalization. As Decrypt reported, the cryptocurrency recently overtook payments giant Mastercard in that regard and was placed at the 16th spot among the world’s top assets.
There are a number of factors driving this latest rally. These include investment from large companies such as MicroStrategy and Square, along with support from payments giant PayPal. Plus, while the demand is rising, Bitcoin's supply is being squeezed due to its halving (as less Bitcoin is now being produced on a daily basis).
The price of Bitcoin is above $22,000, having broken through the $20,000 milestone for the first time in its history yesterday. Its current price of $22,732 represents a 118% increase in value over the last three months. Bitcoin is now firmly in uncharted territory.
It’s been a rapid rise since March, when Bitcoin drastically fell to its lowest point of the year, touching as low as $4,000. The coin has continued to bounce back and has fought its way above the $10,000 price point, going on to ma...
In late 2017, amid the crypto’s historic bull run, Bitcoin's registered all-time high amounted to roughly $20,089 per coin on December 17. Soon after that, the sharp downward trend began that pushed BTC down to around $4,000 at the end of 2018.
"Retails have not fully jumped back into crypto again like the institutions had so it feels more like 2016 than 2017 right now. We definitely will see BTC break above $20K soon to make new all-time-highs likely by Xmas 2020,” noted Kory Hoang, CEO and co-founder of stablecoin platform Stably, adding, “Once more retails and mainstream companies adopt crypto and blockchain technology, there's no telling how high BTC can go.”
And yet—if 2017 is anything to go by—its price can come back down even quicker.
Update: This article has been updated with the latest price figures after the Bitcoin price surged higher above $19,000.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
Bitcoin Bull Run
A continuously updated selection of stories explaining the price movements of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies during the current bull run.
The price of Bitcoin continues to surge, with spot Bitcoin ETFs in the rearview mirror and the halving coming in April. Renewed euphoria has swirled as the price of Bitcoin skyrocketed to $64,000 on Wednesday.
“Fourth Bitcoin bull market, and this all feels very different,” prominent Bitcoin podcast host Peter McCormack said on Twitter.
Fourth #bitcoin bull market and this all feels very different.
Lessons from the others:- 2013 spent all my #bitcoin and traded CFDs. Ended 2013 with 0 #bitcoin....
Bitcoin today hit $39,000 per coin for the first time since a brutal digital asset crash in May 2022 that brought with it a long and painful bear market.
The virtual coin has since made a terrific comeback: at the start of January, it was trading for less than $17,000 per coin; it is now up 128%.
Could this mean we’re seeing the beginning of a bull run? Some experts say it’s only up from here.
A lot has happened in the crypto space since blockchain project Terra collapsed last year, leading...
In a move that surprised some experts, Invesco Ltd, an investment management company with $1.3 trillion in assets under management, decided not to immediately pursue its Bitcoin futures application.
“We have determined not to pursue the launch of a Bitcoin futures ETF in the immediate near-term,” an Invesco spokesperson told Bloomberg.
The firm added that it will carry on with its Galaxy Digital partnership to offer investors a “full shelf of products” with exposure to digital assets, including...