Bitcoin Moves Past $11,000 Mark Momentarily

The return of bullish sentiment in the market is helping the world’s oldest cryptocurrency soar. Bitcoin has moved up by 170% year to date, crossing $11,000 mark momentarily on Monday. Altcoins like Ethereum have also shown significant progress as investors come back to the market.

The bitcoin growth story is back

Monday morning brought new highs for Bitcoin as the cryptocurrency breached the $11,000 mark to reach its new 15-month high. With bulls returning to the market and a renewed interest in cryptocurrencies because of Facebook’s coin Libra, the markets are seeing a 2017-like rise again.

In early morning trade (5:30 am Hong Kong) on Monday, the coin made an intraday high of $11,3017.69, according to CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index. The last time the coin was at this level was on March 5, 2018. About two months ago (January 2018) Bitcoin had hit all-time highs of $20,000 followed by a nosedive in price. The price dropped to $10,624.10 at 10.05 am Hong Kong Time.

Bitcoin keeps marching ahead

Bitcoin has been going up since late February this year after a year of “crypto winter” when prices and market enthusiasm remained low. However, Fidelity, one of the largest asset managers in the world, announced that it would launch cryptocurrency custody and trading service. The prices startled and one good news after another kept the prices up.

The most recent rise in Bitcoin prices is being attributed to Facebook’s announcement of a new cryptocurrency called Libra. The stablecoin, pegged to government-backed securities, will help Facebook jump into the payments business bandwagon.

Kenetic Capital co-founder Jehan Chu told CNBC that the price surge could be attributed to Libra which has forced CEOs to think about cryptocurrency. Another major factor in crypto price rise is a rising consensus in the investment community that Bitcoin is a “legitimate store of value,” which could be useful in the digital age. The question lingering in investor’s mind is whether it is a good time to buy bitcoin or wait for a correction?

Bitcoin’s growth is also leaving an impact on the broader cryptocurrency market, pulling the prices of altcoins upwards. Ethereum, the second largest coin in the world, has nearly doubled this year as crypto markets grow bullish. The fate of Facebook’s coin Libra is still undecided as banks in the US is reportedly maintaining a distance from the project. Moreover, lawmakers from both Europe and the US have raised concerns about money laundering, terrorism finance, and privacy issues with the new coin.