Bitcoin prices broke through $63,000 today. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
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Bitcoin prices continued to climb into new territory this morning, surpassing $63,000 the day before cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase was scheduled to go public.
The world’s most prominent digital currency reached $63,660.93 around 11:45 a.m. EDT, CoinDesk data shows.
At this point, bitcoin was up 120% since the start of the year, when it was trading below $29,000, additional CoinDesk figures reveal.
[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.]
Coinbase Offering ‘Biggest Catalyst In Months’
When asked to explain these price movements, several analysts pointed to Coinbase’s upcoming direct listing, emphasizing its impact.
“The biggest catalyst in months is happening tomorrow — the listing of Coinbase shares (COIN),” said Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer of asset manager Arca.
“While Coinbase needs Bitcoin a lot more than Bitcoin needs Coinbase, it's not surprising to see BTC run ahead of what will likely be the most talked about event on Wall Street tomorrow,” he stated.
Marouane Garcon, managing director of crypto-to-crypto derivatives platform Amulet, also weighed in, stating that:
“Both Ethereum and Bitcoin have reached all time highs, this is the Coinbase effect. The market as a whole seems to be running in anticipation of the Coinbase listing.”
Greater Awareness
Marc Bernegger, a board member of Crypto Finance Group, also commented on the offering, stressing how it is benefiting the entire crypto space.
“The fact that a purely crypto related company is going public and showing an extremely profitable business case only nine years after its foundation brings a lot of additional awareness to the whole crypto industry including Bitcoin,” he stated.
“By looking at the numbers of Coinbase more and more non crypto investors finally realize that crypto is far more than pure speculation and Coinbase as a gatekeeper into the world of digital assets is a great showcase for the whole industry,” Bernegger added.
“Literally every day” there is news about “more institutional investors moving into the Bitcoin space,” he stated.
“It seems that the whole industry is at a tipping point,” Bernegger concluded.
Garcon provided a similarly optimistic assessment, predicting that “I expect us to be in a bull market this entire year.”
Disclosure: I own some bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ether and EOS.
