The price of Bitcoin has rocketed in the last few months and today has reached a 15-month record price, continuing its bull run. It now stands at just over $11,200. This surge has taken cryptocurrency users by surprise but it brings the world’s leading cryptocurrency to the verge of reversing all its losses of 2018 and the early part of 2019.
Having smashed through the psychological barrier of $10,000, Bitcoin has also achieved another significant milestone: its market cap now sits at over $200 billion and overall market dominance has now reached 60%.
Bitcoin’s impressive surge has had an impact on other cryptocurrencies as confidence returns to the markets; Ethereum, Ripple(XRP) and litecoin have all made gains in the double digits. This brings an additional $30 billion to the value of the world’s cryptocurrencies in just a matter of days.
There has been a flurry of speculation among analysts as to the cause of this impressive rise in value. Some have pointed to a resurgence in interest in cryptocurrencies in the wake of Facebook’s announcement on the launch of its own cryptocurrency, Libra.
Others have been swift to recall that the Bitcoin halvening event is scheduled to take place in just under a year. This means that in 2020, the daily supply of Bitcoin will be half of what we currently have. There have been two halvening events since the crypto coin’s creation. This is a fixed event that will occur after every 210,000 Bitcoin are mined or confirmed by the system. The first halvening event took place in November 2012 and at that point the Bitcoin price reached its first all-time high of $1,000. The 2016 halvening was a likely trigger for the bull run of 2017 with the Bitcoin price reacing $19,000. The next halvening event is expected on 22nd May 2020.
In addition to the halvening event, there is a greater demand for Bitcoin as the take up of cryptocurrency among global consumers increases, and as the result of greater ease of buying, using and investing in cryptocurrency. This ease is readily illustrated by the fact that there are now over 5000 Bitcoin ATM’s in around 90 countries across the world – including one at the World Trade Center in Gibraltar – where cryptocurrency users can either buy or sell Bitcoin.
Despite this encouraging surge, and the features that support further price increases for Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency markets are still considered volatile. According to research by data provider Indexica, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies do not respond to any of the things that will alter traditional currencies, commodities or stocks and shares, such as company announcements, political changes and government policies. All this points to a continuance of what cryptocurrency enthusiasts are only too well aware: Bitcoin is still young, expect the unexpected.
