There is so much for Bitcoin investors to celebrate, and one is over the crypto-currency gain frenzy as the number one cryptocurrency extends its rally, making its highest value in the last 17 months today.
On its peak, Bitcoin futures BTCM19, +10.85% hit an intraday high on CME Group Inc. CME, -3.17% at $13,680, and isn’t far from that level now at $13,330 in afternoon action, according to FactSet data.
The cryptocurrency has now grown more than 60% in June alone. The digital coin created back in 2009, has taken its market value, the total of all bitcoin’s in circulation, to $237 billion and Wednesday new high makes Bitcoin value represent 62.6% of all digital currencies tracked by data site CoinMarketCap.com.
This the second high for bitcoin as the December 2017 peak for the digital money was at $326.5 billion.
It is still unclear what drives Bitcoin price in the recent skyrocketing. Some analysts suggest that one possible motivator is the fact that there is already a higher level of recognition towards cryptocurrencies as evidenced by multiple corporation giants having their own crypto ventures.
Michael Moro, CEO of digital currency trading platform Genesis Global Trading, said “ volumes are 2x to 3x higher than where we were 12 months ago,” said.
“While this rise in volume has come from increased activity among our usual buyer base of hedge funds and family offices, an interesting new buyer group has emerged for us – endowments of private schools. This new group helps highlight how Bitcoin and crypto adoption is spreading,” he said.
For the first time since May 2018, Bitcoin prices shot up to $9,000 about a week ago. But the gains did not end there as it immediately rose to $10,000 and then $11,000 in the next few days. Recent levels are easily more than two or three times the $3,000-to-$4,000 range Bitcoin cruises through late last year and during the first three months of 2019.
