Bitcoin is Booming; Price Doubles in 2016, Market Cap Scales $14 Billion
As 2016 winds down, bitcoin’s price rally is ramping up. Today, Bitcoin scaled a high of $875 on the Bitstamp Price Index (BPI).
January 12, 2014. It has been 35-months since bitcoin was trading at $875. The cryptocurrency’s burgeoning surge continues, as the possibility of a new 3-year-high gathers steam.
After blitzing through the $800 mark yesterday, a steady period of trading throughout the day saw bitcoin price reach a high of $833.96, just before midnight (UCT). It wasn’t long before bitcoin price struck $840, within 90 minutes of trading on Thursday. The latest surge was yet to come, however. As price plateaued near the $845 mark this morning, a surge saw bitcoin’s trading value leap from $846.35 at 06:30 to $863.58 in a 60-minute trading period. The gains didn’t stop there, as price rose again to peak at $875 near 10:00.
Bitcoin began the year trading at $432. Today’s high of 875 sees price more than double in value since the beginning of the year. The cryptocurrency could make further gains yet as the rally shows few signs of stopping.
The year’s most notable rise occurred in the days leading up to the UK’s referendum vote. Bitcoin price nearly doubled to $780 in the first three weeks of June as investors and adopters drove demand for the cryptocurrency.
At the time of publishing, bitcoin price is trading at $861.59
Bitcoin’s growing popularity as a digital hedge immune from traditional markets has seen everyday investors flock to the cryptocurrency. China accounts for a significant majority of the world’s bitcoin trade and today, bitcoin price broke past 6000 yuan (approx. $863.72), amid a weakening domestic currency.
Bitcoin’s remarkable year began with a controversial and much-covered comments of former Bitcoin core developer Mike Hearn, who claimed bitcoin was a “failed experiment” while predicting a price collapse, in mid-January. While price took a tumble in the immediate aftermath of Hearn’s exit, the year’s events and trading activity shows otherwise.
For the first time ever, the total value of bitcoins in circulation crossed $14 billion following today’s surge.
For a live Bitcoin Price chart, click here.
For the most recent bitcoin price analysis piece from CCN.com analyst Jim Fredrickson, click here. Today’s analysis will be published shortly.
All time references are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Image from Shutterstock. Charts from Bitcoin Wisdom and CoinMarketCap.
