Bitcoin climbed beyond the $10,000 mark for the first time since June 10, soaring as high as $10,169 on Sunday, pricing compiled by Bloomberg showed. However, the rally quickly fizzled, then rose again a few moments later, gaining 1.9 percent to $10,080.
Widely considered the most popular virtual currency in the world and also referred to as "electronic gold" by crypto fans, BItcoin is in demand as the precious metal hovers to record peaks, raising doubts about the stability of the global economy, while the U.S. greenback retreats.
The U.S. Currency Comptroller's office last week said American lenders can offer custodial services for the digital assets of clients, which could help raise the attractiveness of the asset class with some investors.
That Bitcoin has moved past the $10,000 barrier, even if only for a fleeting moment, is evidence that its vigor is returning. The crypto's price has been mostly unchanged for nearly two months and only now is its momentum starting to increase.
The last time its price brushed past $10,000 was June 2. Then, Bitcoin's value reached peaks of $10,200, figures from metrics site CoinMarketCap showed. But that impressive run was just temporary and Bitcoin hovered around the $9,200 level for the rest of the month until July. In fact, until now.
In addition to being impacted severely by a pricing slump as a result of an ongoing global health turmoil, Bitcoin passed through its third so-called halving last May 11, which slashed the rewards granted to "miners" of the electronic money to 6.25 new coins from 12.5. The halving process has dealt a heavy blow on the supply side of Bitcoin and made it more complex for miners to hit their break-even level.
The $10,000 price level is critical for Bitcoin because that was approximately its price level before the coronavirus pandemic broke out and nearly sliced the price of Bitcoin in two for several weeks.
Meanwhile, digital currency trader Peter Brandt estimates the price of Bitcoin will reach a new record high and ultimately climb all the way to the $50,000 level. "That's actually where my head is. Massive symmetrical triangle in BTC points to ATHs, then $50k," Olumide Adesina of Nairametrics quoted Brandt as saying in his report.
The world's flagship virtual currency has relished above-average flows for 2020, and such are relatively steep in contrast to their five-year average when compared with those of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in other asset categories, analysts said.
