It’s happened, folks. After roughly two months of waiting, bitcoin (BTC) – the world’s most powerful cryptocurrency by market cap – has jumped past the $8,000 mark.
Bitcoin Is Heading for the Stars
This is not only good news, but it’s a testament to the coin’s resilience and maturity. According to Bloomberg’s 2020 crypto outlook report, bitcoin is edging its way closer to being considered “digital gold,” as many analysts and enthusiasts have referred to it over the years. While there are still steps to take, the strength of bitcoin appears to be increasing every day for the past week.
The report explains:
Bitcoin’s initial reaction to the [Jan. 3] U.S. airstrike that killed one of Iran’s most powerful generals was a good test of our premise that the first-born crypto is maturing toward a digital version of gold… Bitcoin should again outshine most crypto assets in 2020 as the unique and appreciating digital version of gold. Bitcoin is winning the adoption race, notably as a store of value in an environment that favors independent quasi-currencies.
As it stands, bitcoin has risen by more than $1,000 in just a matter of days. As we remember, the currency may have started out the early portion of the year over the $7,000 mark, but later fell into the $6,000 range for a brief period. Following the air strike the report mentions, bitcoin shot up to $7,300 and has been on something of a roll ever since.
Rising by anywhere between $100 to a few hundred dollars per day, bitcoin has cemented its position in the crypto space as the number one cryptocurrency and is currently trading for just over $8,100.
At the same time, however, there is a slight catch in the form of falling global stocks. During times of political unrest, as cryptocurrencies and precious metals garner quick and speedy gains, stocks and bonds tend to lose value at a steady rate. We witnessed this late last year following the implementation of Trump’s China tariffs that saw the costs of Chinese goods go up.
Unrest Leads to Gains
During that time, stocks were repeatedly in the red while bitcoin was firing on all cylinders. The currency was trading for around $12,000 during that time, though this didn’t last once the atmosphere calmed down a bit and people got “used to” the tariffs. From there, the world’s primary cryptocurrency fizzled a bit in price and fell back down to the $10,000 range before dropping again in late September.
Either way, the bitcoin price is being marked by bullish behavior, while several other leading cryptocurrencies seem to be joining in the march towards green, though at press time, currencies like Ethereum (ETH), bitcoin cash (BCH), Ripple’s XRP and Litecoin (LTC) have all incurred small losses of anywhere between two and four percent.