Bitcoin Value Reaches Record High After Weekend Crash

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Get ready to potentially kick yourself once again for not investing in Bitcoin.

The alternative currency has now soared to a record high of just below $11,800 on Sunday – at around 9pm GMT – reaching an impressive height of $11,799.99. This was recorded on the Bitstamp exchange in Luxembourg.

The reason for this record breaking feat has not yet been clarified. However, there has been a noted increase of new investors entering the cryptocurrency market.

‘Wallet-providers’ have said there have been record numbers of sign-ups throughout the course of the past week. This follows the sharp crash only last week which led to Bitcoin declining by over $2,000 dollars within the space of just a few hours.

Founder of Cryptocompare – a website dedicated to data analysis – Charles Hayter has made the following comment, according to Reuters:

The price rises are triggered by continued media interest driven by the expectation of futures trading on CME.

By Monday, 12.30pm, the value of Bitcoin had dropped to about $11,250. However, even with this decrease, this is up by over a whopping 100% over the last three weeks.

The value was just $1,000 at the start of 2017, and so Sunday’s record represents a 1,121% escalation throughout the year.

Some financial experts have reportedly been calling for greater regulation of the cryptocurrency, increasing transparency in regards to trader identity and ending anonymity.

The UK government is reportedly planning to increase scrutiny on bitcoin due to concerns the currency could be used for money laundering and evading tax.

A crackdown is expected to come into effect at some point during 2018, which will force traders to report any suspicious activity.

Some investors are still worried about the stability of Bitcoin, which is sometimes referred to as being a ‘bubble’.

Some experts argue its value will be short-lived and unstable because Bitcoin isn’t a standardised or widely accepted currency.

The legitimacy of the virtual currency is still uncertain, however it is starting to make its way into hedgefund portfolios.

Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, told The Guardian:

The legitimacy this gives Bitcoin as a tradeable asset is very important. The market cap of Bitcoin now exceeds that of IBM, Disney [or] McDonald’s…

But for traditionalists, it’s hard to fathom. Rather than a commodity or currency, Bitcoin is like owning stock in a company that will only ever issue 21 million shares and never pay a penny in dividends.

The only way it has value is if the next guy is willing to pay you more for it – the greater fool. With no intrinsic value to bitcoin, it’s hard to see this as anything other than a giant speculative bubble.

With such staggering highs and dramatic lows, is it still too early to get excited about Bitcoin?

Julia Banim

Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.