Bitcoin is primed for another “price explosion” that could see the cryptocurrency’s value soar to even greater levels than it experienced in 2017, according to analysts.

The price predictions come amid significant gains across cryptocurrency markets in recent weeks that have seen bitcoin rise by more than a third in value to return above $9,000 for the first time since March.

“I’m not surprised to see bitcoin’s price exceed $9,000 this week,” Rodrigo Marques, CEO of investment platform Atlas Quantum, told The Independent. “Rumours of a price explosion seem to have been driven by more and more institutional buyers getting into cryptocurrencies.”

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The positive price forecast is in part informed by market activity that has seen a large increase in buy orders for the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency. As noted by Cryptoslate, buy orders compose over 92 per cent of market activity for the first time since March 2017.

At that time, bitcoin was worth just over $1,000 but quickly began to gain value, eventually reaching close to $20,000 by the end of the year.

“With so many buy orders placing pressure on the cryptocurrency market, a significant price shift is highly likely,” the cryptocurrency website states, adding that a massive price surge is “inevitable.”

The price of bitcoin has risen by almost 20 per cent over the last week, however experts say even bigger gains should be expected. (AFP/Getty Images)

Analysts have previously cited concerns about cryptocurrency regulation when explaining bitcoin’s dramatic drop in value at the beginning of 2018, which saw it lose over $10,000 over the course of a few months.

However, the right kind of regulation could in fact be a boost for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as it will protect investors while also exploiting their benefits.

A move towards this type of even-handed approach to bitcoin was hinted at by IMF chief Christine Lagarde earlier this month, who said bitcoin and its underlying blockchain technology could transform the way people save and invest.

Ms Lagarde’s comments preceded an upswing in the cryptocurrency markets, with other major digital currencies like ethereum, ripple and bitcoin cash mirroring and even exceeding the recent gains of bitcoin.

“Although there are ongoing regulatory concerns in key markets, they do seem to be dissipating,” Mr Marques said. “If these concerns are addressed and there is even more positive movement related to regulation in these markets, there could be even more buying pressure to come.”

Having passed the $9,000 price point, other analysts are confident that the crossing of the next psychological barrier of $10,000 will continue to boost bitcoin’s momentum and could trigger what is known as a bull phase in the market, whereby optimistic investors drive up the value.

“Bitcoin is well on its way to $10,000 and the volumes, buy orders and momentum oscillators all point towards this,” Oliver Isaacs, an experienced blockchain and cryptocurrency adviser, told The Independent.

“Bitcoin is up over 15 per cent in the last seven days and there are clear signs that the bull run is back. Over the past few months, bitcoin has lost nearly three quarters of its value but now investors are seeing a lot of value across the board and market caps are rising rapidly.”

Such optimistic predictions seem relatively modest when compared to the price expectations of several renowned figures within the cryptocurrency space.

These include the investor and self-described “bitcoin evangelist” Alistair Milne, who believes bitcoin will reach between $35,000 and $60,000 by 2020, and celebrated investor Tim Draper who revealed his prediction earlier this month that bitcoin will soar to $250,000 by 2022.