[ad_1]
NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – Bitcoin surpassed $ 21,000 (S $ 27,900) for the first time, another milestone in what has been a jaw-dropping rally for the controversial digital asset this year.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency surged as much as 10 percent to $ 21,293 in New York on Wednesday (Dec. 16), vindicating forecasts that were mocked months ago and leading to even higher forecasts.
Bitcoin has nearly tripled this year, with the rally picking up on Wednesday after breaking above $ 20,000 for the first time.
“We have a new line in the sand and the focus shifts to the next round of $ 30,000,” said Antoni Trenchev, co-founder and managing partner of Nexo, a cryptocurrency lender. This “is the beginning of a new chapter for Bitcoin. It is a narrative that the media and the retail public can rightly grasp because they have been conspicuously absent from this rally.”
Bitcoin has surged despite a severe collapse in March that saw it lose 25 percent amid the coronavirus pandemic. Proponents have gotten hold of the narrative that the currency could act as a storehouse of wealth amid supposedly rampant printing of money from the central bank, even as inflation remains for the most part off.
Additionally, some Wall Street companies have shown increased interest, and many have sought to capitalize on their profits in a world of rock-bottom interest rates.
Guggenheim Partners, for example, recently said that it could invest up to 10 percent of its $ 5.3 billion Macro Opportunity Fund in a Bitcoin trust.
Bitcoin’s crossover above the $ 20,000 and $ 21,000 levels were its latest milestones in recent weeks – the coin in late November hit a new high three years after setting a previous peak. It had been traded at a few pennies for several years after its launch in late 2008 by an unknown software developer in the wake of the global financial crisis.
“People tend to accumulate momentum trades, so Bitcoin could have more advantages from here,” said Ed Campbell, portfolio manager and managing director of QMA.
Peer currencies were also up on Wednesday, with the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index, which tracks some of the major cryptocurrencies, gaining as much as 7.2%. Dash and Litecoin each advanced at least 6 percent.
Ether, the second-largest digital asset, after Bitcoin, was up as much as 6.9 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, so much so that cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said it was experiencing congestion issues and delays in sending the token. . Customers registered complaints about the service on the Downdetector website, which tracks outages.
The rally follows an announcement by the CME Group that it has plans to expand its set of cryptocurrency derivatives offerings to include Ether futures starting in February.
For Meltem Demirors, Chief Strategy Officer at CoinShares, Bitcoin’s crossover above $ 20,000 marks an important psychological milestone.
“The most important thing is the macroeconomic conditions – this is the perfect setup for Bitcoin,” he said by phone. “From here things are going to move very fast and I wouldn’t be surprised if we hit $ 35,000 in the next three to six months.”
[ad_2]
