Bitcoin has reached a fresh record high, breaking $12k on Tuesday and strengthening its gains. No clear catalyst was identified to have led to today’s upsurge, although the positive impact of CBOE offering bitcoin futures might have carried over.
At the time of filing the post, the crypto currency was trading at $12435. Ethereum, on the other hand, did not pick up much to hover around $450 mark. (Source: coinmarketcap.com).
The total market capitalization of the crypto market, as per coinmarketcap.com, has risen to $357 billion on Tuesday, with Bitcoin contributing a dominant 55%. The largest digital currency by market value has been bullish since the start of the year, increasing by 12-folds – from $1,000 to $12,000. The Bitcoin’s total market value has reached to about $203 billion, which is double than the market cap of Goldman Sachs.
Amid the price surge, there has been a continuous chorus of warnings against going with the speculative frenzy. Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase Inc. (JPM), has dismissed the virtual currency calling it a ‘fraud’ while Goldman Sachs’ Jeff Currie has weighed Bitcoin against gold and do not “see why there is all this hostility to it.”
Several established institutions in the financial services ecosystem, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), have embraced the blockchain networks.
Bitcoin has soared past $12,000, before expectations. The trend of institutional money flowing into the crypto market continues. It will not only add to the value of Bitcoin but also provide more liquidity.
While Bitcoin is fresh off all-time highs today, it is expected to go further beyond. As far as the projections are concerned, experts within the crypto currency space have expressed their optimism towards Bitcoin price reaching $45,000 by the end of 2018, which translates to a $1 trillion market cap.