Bitcoin tops $10,000, marks 10fold rise in 2017
NEWYORK: Virtual currency bitcoin soared to an all-time high above $10,000 on Wednesday on major exchanges and digital currency indexes, including the widely followed Luxembourg-based trading platform Bitstamp.
At 0600 GMT, it was quoted around $10,115 on Bitstamp, coming sharply off a high of $10,743.61, which was a rise of more than 5% on the day.
Created in 2009, bitcoin uses encryption and a blockchain database that enables the fast and anonymous transfer of funds outside of a traditional centralised payment system. It has raised over 10-fold in value so far this year, posting the largest gain of all asset classes, amid institutional demand for crypto-currencies as financial and mainstream use has expanded.
But sceptics say it a classic speculative bubble with no relation to real financial market activity or the economy, most famously Jpmorgan boss Jamie Dimon who labelled it a fraud.
Bitcoin crossed $10,000 on smaller exchanges such as the CEX.IO exchange, and the crypto-currency index coinmarketcap.com long before it hit the milestone on Bitstamp.
“The price rise is a continuation of a long-term trend, which has been driven by the speculative activity in Japan and also with institutional investors dipping their toes into the cryptocurrency market,” said Thomas Glucksmann, head of marketing at Hong Kong exchange Gatecoin. “The recent surge is just part of that additional element of excitement amongst speculative traders and a growing contingent of liquid traders that have a long-term optimistic view on this technology.”
In some emerging markets, bitcoin had hit well over $10,000 previously. In Zimbabwe, bitcoin traded at $17,875 on Monday. Tuesday’s price in Zimbabwe was not available.
In South Korean exchanges, bitcoin was close to $11,000 or higher early this week. It traded at $12,000 on Tuesday on bithumb after hitting the $10,000 milestone on Monday. At Coinone, it traded at near $12,700, and it was up 10% in 24 hours at $12,792 on Korbit.