Cryptocurrency prices are skyrocketing, the price of a bitcoin increased by nearly $150 in just a week.

A bitcoin was trading at $1,058.15 on February 17 and $1,204.77 on February 24, 2017, Coinbase data indicates. That means bitcoin prices increased by $146.62 in just seven days.

Therefore bitcoin has not only regained all the value it lost in the January slump, it has easily surpassed the $1,069.40 high it hit on January 4. Among other things bitcoin’s price was almost $40 higher than the all-time high of $1,165 reached in November 2013, Tech Crunch reported.

This is certainly good news for bitcoin investors, a piece of the cryptocurrency is now worth $777.03 more than it was on February 26, 2016. A bitcoin was trading at $427.24 on that date, which means investors more than doubled their investment in less than a year.

Will Bitcoin overtake Gold?

It also means that bitcoin is closing in on the price of gold. A troy ounce of the metal was trading at $1,259.60 on February 24, 2017, according to APMEX investments.

Note this might not happen anytime soon because gold prices are also soaring. Although gold’s growth is not as dramatic as that of bitcoin, on January 24, an ounce of gold was trading at $1,213.50. That’s an increase of $46.10 compared to $146.62 so the prospect of bitcoin’s price overtaking gold is a realistic one.

This might occur because bitcoin is much easier to buy and sell than gold. Anybody with a credit card and access to the internet can buy bitcoin almost instantly via a digital wallet. Another advantage is that it can be converted into cash quickly via a bitcoin ATM.

Why is Bitcoin Going through the Roof?

U.S. President Donald J. Trump might be the cause of the current bitcoin boom. Analyst Mark Bunger of Lux Research believes that speculation Trump might loosen financial regulations in the U.S. is driving increased interest in Bitcoin, Bloomberg Markets reported.

Another factor peaking interest is speculation that the U.S. Securities and Exchange permission will give the Winklelvoss Twins permission to launch their Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF). That would certainly make the cryptocurrency more respectable and open up a huge new market from Americans’ retirement funds many of which invest in ETFs.

If that’s true the bitcoin bull market is based on speculation and might collapse at any more. Note, Bunger is ignoring other factors that might be driving the bubble including increased demand from India which is experiencing demonetization, and fears about the future of currencies like the Euro and the pound sterling in Europe.

No matter what the cause, it looks as if bitcoin is on a roller coaster rider that is not going to end anytime soon.

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