Bitcoin’s price surges past US$13,500, up 268% year-to-date

Bitcoin roared to an 18-month high on Thursday as it surged past US$13,500-levels to hit US$13,852.71, IG data showed, as consumer interest in the cryptocurrency grows in lieu of Facebook’s entry into the crypto space.

Bitcoin is currently on the running to end higher for the fifth-straight-month, the longest winning streak since April to June 2017.

Bitcoin up 268% year-to-date

Just a day earlier, Bitcoin prices were hovering around US$11,367.92 to US$12,813.19 per coin before rising to US$13,775.24 on Thursday 27 June at 3.00am, Singapore time, hitting a market capitalization value of US$244.95 billion, Coinmarketcap data showed.

The cryptocurrency eased to US$12,753.93 hours later on Thursday, at 10.42am, Singapore time.

Compared to January 1, 2019, Bitcoin was trading at US$3,768.84 per coin, with a market capitalization value of US$65.8 billion, showed Coinmarketcap data.

Since April this year, prices have been trending higher and crypto enthusiasts have been calling the resurgence of Bitcoin the end of the “Crypto Winter”. Bitcoin prices had plonked lower at the range of US$3,300 to US$4,100 per coin for several months from November 2018 till March 2019, after it hit the all-time-high price of US$19,783.06 on December 17, 2017.

According to a Bloomberg article, Google searches for Bitcoin were five times higher than in December 2017, when Bitcoin hit its peak of US$19,783.06, suggesting that there is now increased mainstream interest on the cryptocurrency as compared to two years ago.

Read more on Bitcoin bobs above US$11,000, up 187% year-to-date.

Bitcoin’s recent rise looks sustainable, suggest experts

Bitcoin’s rise looks sustainable, as the dominance rate, an indicator that tracks the the total crypto market capitalization contributed by the leading cryptocurrency, is hovering at 18-month highs above 61.5%. said Mr Omkar Godbole, technical reporter at CoinDesk.

‘A price rise accompanied by a surge in the dominance rate indicates the money is being poured into the Bitcoin market for a long haul and not merely to fund purchases of cheap alternative cryptocurrencies,’ said Mr Godbole.

‘That is also evident from the sharp losses in altcoins’ Bitcoin-denominated exchange rates. For instance, names (cryptocurrencies) like XRP, Bitcoin Cash, EOS, Binance coin and other major altcoins (alternative coins) are currently down 10% to 33% on a seven-day basis,’ he added.

The fundamentals for Bitcoin currently looks different compared to the cryptocurrency’s peak in 2017 as well, as trading volume is currently 16 times lower than it was in its all-time peak in December of 2017, data from Blockchain.info showed.

But investors remain weary, suggests Mr Josh Gnaizda, the chief executive of CryptoFundResearch, in an email to Bloomberg. While Bitcoin experienced a similar price increase in November to December of 2017, 'just 11 days after the period referenced above, Bitcoin hit it's all-time-high (prices), then began its lengthy fall,' said Mr Gnaizda said.

Facebook’s Libra and institutional involvement

This year, analysts are betting on crypto’s revival as more institutions reveal plans to build their own cryptocurrencies and/or are dabbling with blockchain technology.

Facebook last week announced plans to launch its cryptocurrency Libra, which will run a digital payments system on the blockchain to allow its two billion users to buy things or send money with close to zero transaction fees.

The firm plans to launch its crypto in the first half of next year, it said in its whitepaper. On top of its cryptocurrency “Libra”, Facebook also said it will be releasing a cryptocurrency wallet called “Calibra” to accompany the digital coin.

Read more on Facebook’s cryptocurrency Libra takes on the world to target mass market users.