- Bitcoin’s price has surged again on Thursday, going higher by as much as 12%. All the way to a record high of $40,394.87.
- This explosion has helped the cryptocurrency market hit above $1 trillion. A first time record for the asset class.
- Bitcoin’s top rival, Ethereum, reached a two year record when it hit $1,200. While smaller coins like XRP also increased.
Bitcoin’s value surged on Thursday by as much as 12%. Hitting a record of $40,394.87. This explosion has helped the overall market go above $1 trillion. A first time record for the asset class.
Bitcoin, which has already gone up almost 400% in the past year, has seen incredible interest in the past few weeks.
The things driving the rally are a desire for an alternative investment that is not dependent on central banks, whose policies can debase a currency’s value, like what has happened to the Dollar as a result of the Fed’s zero-interest rate policy and trillions in stimulus over the past year.
“With purchasing interest pushing the market, any sell-offs will be viewed as just more opportunity to enter this market, which right now, is going relentlessly higher,” DailyFX strategist Nick Cawley explained.
“In the world of crypto, we should always be careful, especially with its volatility at its present extreme level,” he said.
With a total value above $1 trillion, cryptos are now valued at half of Apple’s value. They’re also bigger than the whole Swiss economy – which is home to some of the biggest financial players in the world and some of the largest gold vaults.
“Bitcoin continues to rise to new records,” Michael Hewson, a CMC Markets strategist said in a note.
Greater visibility thanks to regulation and growing market reach have aided cryptos in getting away from their past reputation as an asset that was filled with speculation and fraud.
High-profile investors like Mike Novogratz, Anthony Scaramucci and of course Paul Tudor Jones have supported at Bitcoin. And companies like Square and PayPal are allowing their customers to trade cryptos. Plus, fintech companies beyond the US are reporting huge interest from their customers.
JPMorgan has claimed Bitcoin could eventually reach as much as $146,000 if investors center around it it as a safe haven like gold, although they added that such a huge increase might not hold for long.
Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency and the most used one by far, with its total of almost $700 billion. Second is Ethereum, which went up 800% this past year to a high of $1,228 on Thursday. Its value is about $138 billion.
Meanwhile, the token XRP has suffered with mixed performance recently. Officials put out a complaint against Ripple on the issue of sales of its token being illegitimate. They claimed these coins were a security and not a cryptocurrency. After doubling in one week in November, XRP tanked and lost half its value in December. But since the start of this month, the crypto has doubled again. With it being up almost 30% on the day at around $0.328 on one exchange.
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