As investors continued to bet on an asset that has a limited supply and has paved the way for a whole slew of crypto-currencies, the market capitalization of bitcoin was pushed to $100 billion at one point as the cryptocurrency surged to a record high of more than $6,000 on Friday.
Gaining more than any other tradable asset class, the original virtual currency has gained over 500 percent this year. Bitcoin has already posted gains and losses as high as 26 percent and 16 percent respectively on any given day and hence it is considered to be very volatile.
Up 4.7 percent on the day, a record peak of $6,000.10 was reached by bitcoin on the BitStamp platform and was last at $5,964.24.
Allowed to be used as a foundation for future applications through the blockchain, its underlying technology or be held as an investment, bitcoin is a digital currency that has gained popularity among investors and users in the last few years. A digital ledger of transactions is how the blockchain is described by experts.
Compared to what most people bitcoin is more scarce though. It is expected that the number of bitcoins to ever be in existence will not be more than 21 million.
Friday’s surge in price was due to a combination of factors, analysts said.
hopes that China will soften its regulatory stance on crypto-currencies helped bitcoin’s cause, said Charles Hayter, co-founder of data analysis website Cryptocompare in London.
“As China ... fears fade, the price is unlocked and driven by demand and buyers entering the markets,” said Hayter.
In what is known as initial coin offerings, China has banned the practice of raising capital through the sale of tokens to the public over the summer. The shutdown of digital currency exchanges has also been ordered by China.
But the Chinese ban is temporary, many in the market believe.
“China would not want to be left out of the digital currency market nor the development of blockchain applications in general,” said Jason English, vice president of Protocol Marketing, at Sweetbridge, a global alliance in Zug, Switzerland that aims to use blockchain to create a liquid supply chain.
“As much as 60 percent of the world’s bitcoin mining is happening in China, and therefore, many of the large ... investments in ICO projects have also been coming from crypto-currency holders in China, whether directly or indirectly,” English added.
investors have been going back into bitcoin given the still uncertain global regulatory environment on crypto-currencies, believes Sean Walsh, a partner at venture capital firm Redwood City, Ventures in Redwood City, California.
The CO craze, which exploded this year played a big part in bitcoin’s recent surge. Purchasing tokens for ICOs is done with the help of bitcoins and ether.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
Gaining more than any other tradable asset class, the original virtual currency has gained over 500 percent this year. Bitcoin has already posted gains and losses as high as 26 percent and 16 percent respectively on any given day and hence it is considered to be very volatile.
Up 4.7 percent on the day, a record peak of $6,000.10 was reached by bitcoin on the BitStamp platform and was last at $5,964.24.
Allowed to be used as a foundation for future applications through the blockchain, its underlying technology or be held as an investment, bitcoin is a digital currency that has gained popularity among investors and users in the last few years. A digital ledger of transactions is how the blockchain is described by experts.
Compared to what most people bitcoin is more scarce though. It is expected that the number of bitcoins to ever be in existence will not be more than 21 million.
Friday’s surge in price was due to a combination of factors, analysts said.
hopes that China will soften its regulatory stance on crypto-currencies helped bitcoin’s cause, said Charles Hayter, co-founder of data analysis website Cryptocompare in London.
“As China ... fears fade, the price is unlocked and driven by demand and buyers entering the markets,” said Hayter.
In what is known as initial coin offerings, China has banned the practice of raising capital through the sale of tokens to the public over the summer. The shutdown of digital currency exchanges has also been ordered by China.
But the Chinese ban is temporary, many in the market believe.
“China would not want to be left out of the digital currency market nor the development of blockchain applications in general,” said Jason English, vice president of Protocol Marketing, at Sweetbridge, a global alliance in Zug, Switzerland that aims to use blockchain to create a liquid supply chain.
“As much as 60 percent of the world’s bitcoin mining is happening in China, and therefore, many of the large ... investments in ICO projects have also been coming from crypto-currency holders in China, whether directly or indirectly,” English added.
investors have been going back into bitcoin given the still uncertain global regulatory environment on crypto-currencies, believes Sean Walsh, a partner at venture capital firm Redwood City, Ventures in Redwood City, California.
The CO craze, which exploded this year played a big part in bitcoin’s recent surge. Purchasing tokens for ICOs is done with the help of bitcoins and ether.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
