Value of digital cryptocurrency continues to rise.
The digital cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has broken records again, eclipsing the $1700 record it had already broken just days earlier to settle at a new all time high price of over $1800.
The new record price means that Bitcoin has increased its value by 85% overall in the first 5 months of 2017 alone. Since May 1, the market capitalization of Bitcoin has risen over $3 billion to $29.53 billion.
Bitcoin, another month, another record: But Why?
That’s a great question, you’re on fire today.
Well, there are a lot of reasons, but I have a limited number of words to play with, so, the primary reason for the latest jump in breaking records is the fact that Bitcoin is gaining legitimacy as an actual legitimate currency around the globe.
Japan has recently legalized the the cryptocurrency, making it a legal form of payment domestically. Around 260,000 stores there are expected to begin accepting Bitcoin as payment in the coming months. It could also see itself becoming a default safe currency for international businesses and travelers alike.
And there are distinct grumblings of positivity from other major policy makers internationally, as well. Russia has said it is considering the adoption of Bitcoin, though not exclusively, and there are moves in the US and Europe to do the same. The trend isn’t universal however. China for instance, has made recent moves to restrict its use there.
Other cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Ethereum, and Ripple are booming in value as well.
Is it a bubble?
Probably. Maybe. Maybe not, who knows. But that’s another brilliant question; go you for being so incredible today.
In terms of being an actual currency, Bitcoin isn’t all that big. $30 billion is a relatively small amount. (Like, really relatively.) But that hasn’t stopped the international media from picking up on its rise, and spreading the hype.
Currency speculators are currently jumping on the Bitcoin bandwagon, and if reports are to be believed, are paying far in excess of the individual Bitcoin value, betting that the currency will only rise, and thus creating an unsustainable bubble of trouble. And at some point, Bitcoin’s value is inevitably going to crash. It has before, and it will again. There has never been a currency in modern times, whose value at some point, hasn’t. So it will. That much is certain.
But that’s kind of besides the point. Bitcoin will survive, and will continue to grow in the long term, and cryptocurrencies are going to be part of everyday life for most of us, at some point in the future. At the moment however, Bitcoin looks like it’s going to keep on rising in value, in the short term anyway.