The price of Bitcoin has really jumped over the past week. At the time of writing the price on Bitstamp is $498 USD per BTC. Just six days ago on May 22nd, the price was only $438 per BTC and has been steadily climbing upwards since that day.

As many people have their eyes glued to the Ethereum markets, and the DAO crowdfund the value of Bitcoin snuck up from behind them. Last night the price reached $500 per BTC, and the value was $475 the day before that. Eyes are also glued to China as markets in the region shudder, and the Yuan devalues further. Chinese Bitcoin trading has shot through the roof in the past 24 hours and exchanges have had higher spreads than many spot prices in the U.S.

Overall the value is up 4-6% depending on which exchange hemisphere you’re measuring on. This has caused feverish HODL enthusiasm across all social media boards, and people feel the surge could prove to be a rally. As said above cryptocurrency supporters have been watching Ethereum markets very closely, and some wonder if the sharp decline in its native tokens value may be attributed to the BTC rise. Alongside this, you can hear the typical chatter of the momentous reward halving coming to the network this July.

One particular Reddit post called “Not just China this time? Yen, Real, Rupiah, Baht, Singapore Dollar, and British Pound all trading above $500 USD, while Bitstamp is $, 493…is this partly a Brexit bull run?” shows the current trend from fiat to BTC is a global phenomenon. It’s not just China pouring funds into the network and markets have been hot in Japan and other areas around the world.

Others wonder if the price of oil per barrel is affecting the price and the devaluation of the U.S. dollar. As well as this action gold and precious metal markets have also been going through all time lows. Could Bitcoin’s rise be a mix of turmoil in most of the traditional markets? Most likely. However, U.S. stocks closed for Memorial Day weekend on a relatively high note as Janet Yellen announced an interest hike was coming soon.

It’s really anyone’s guess at the moment what’s causing this rally and if it will continue. The price per Bitcoin is hitting some resistance at the moment trying to break the $500 mark again. It very well could happen as the charts are looking bullish and volume is very high with order books filled. The moral of the story is Hodlers are hodling, and people want this rally to continue with even some are asking for the Willy bots to return.

Source: CNBC, Oil & Gold Spot, and Bitcoin Wisdom