Bitcoin prices have continued to climb lately, rising above $36,000 and attaining their latest high. … [+]
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Bitcoin prices rallied again today, surpassing the $36,000 price level as the cryptocurrency benefited from sustained momentum.
The world’s most prominent digital currency climbed to as much as $36,461.69 at roughly 4 p.m. EST, according to CoinDesk data.
After rising to this fresh, all-time high, bitcoin pulled back slightly, falling below $36,000, and proceeded to fluctuate close to this price level, additional CoinDesk figures reveal.
At this point, bitcoin has climbed more than 800% in the last year, rallying from less than $4,000 in March 2020 to upwards of $36,500 today.
[Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]
The cryptocurrency’s performance has been particularly strong in recent months, as it has rallied more than 80% after surpassing the previous record of $19,783.21 set in December 2017.
In spite of all this, analysts have been pointing to far larger numbers as being possible, with a recent JPMorgan Chase report indicating that bitcoin could climb to as much as $146,000 if investors flock to the cryptocurrency as a safe-haven asset.
This development was reported on in many places, including MarketWatch. A team of strategists wrote that for bitcoin to reach this price level, the investors who put their money into gold as a safe haven would need to instead buy the digital asset.
They stated that this transition has already begun, pointing to the investors who have been putting their money into funds run by Grayscale and pulling it out of gold-based exchange-traded funds, according to MarketWatch.
These latest developments have taken place amid a backdrop of rising institutional interest, where these major investors have been putting millions of dollars into the digital currency.
These conditions contrast with the prior rally, which was attributed largely to factors like very enthusiastic retail investors and widespread media coverage.
While bitcoin did climb to nearly $20,000 in December 2017, it didn’t stay there long, as it quickly plunged, wiping out significant value.
Since many market observers have been crediting institutional interest with driving the current rally, some are hoping these conditions will fuel more sustainable gains.
Disclosure: I own some bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ether and EOS.
