Bitcoin prices have been on a tear lately, hitting fresh, multi-year highs. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER … [+]
AFP via Getty Images
Bitcoin prices have experienced some newsworthy gains today, climbing to their loftiest value in more than two years.
The world’s most prominent digital currency reached $16,786.89 this afternoon, according to CoinDesk data.
At this point, it was trading at its highest price since January 2018 and had climbed more than 333% since hitting a 2020 low below $3,900 in March, additional CoinDesk figures show.
[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.]
When explaining these latest gains, analysts pointed to several factors as helping fuel continued upside in bitcoin.
Jesse Proudman, CEO of crypto hedge fund Strix Leviathan, weighed in on this matter, stating that:
“Over the last few weeks, the sentiment around Bitcoin has dramatically improved, driven by a constant drum beat of news of widening institutional interest.”
“This morning's news regarding SkyBridge's search for Bitcoin managers is another exemplary demonstration of the growing interest of traditional managers,” he added, referring to the recent news involving hedge fund SkyBridge Capital, run by Anthony Scaramucci.
Tim Enneking, managing director of Digital Capital Management, provided similar input, emphasizing that the sentiment surrounding bitcoin has clearly improved.
He noted that the profile of the average bitcoin investor has changed quite a bit, becoming significantly more institutional as of late.
This development “changes the trading dynamic significantly,” said Enneking.
Jason Lau, COO of cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin, provided additional commentary, specifically emphasizing the progress that the broader digital currency space has been making.
“Rallies / movements are happening on weekdays which is indicative of institutional flow (vs retail),” he stated.
“Companies like PayPal, JPMorgan, and Citibank are participating and creating new awareness of Bitcoin as an asset class,” said Lau.
Further, he noted that:
“On chain analysis shows active addresses are spiking today (up 124% in the last 24 hours) but still nowhere near the levels the January 2018 level.”
“This indicates larger buys and perhaps institutional investment this time around.”
Disclosure: I own some bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ether and EOS.
