Bitcoin surges to its highest level since November
Bitcoin jumped back to life on Tuesday, surging to its highest level in almost five months, following several months of low volatility.
The cryptocurrency rallied as high as 20 percent, crossing the $5,000 mark on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange early Tuesday, while ralling 15 percent to around $4,800, on the CoinDesk exchange. The rallies, however, are far below bitcoin’s late 2017 highs, which neared $20,000 during its peak.
While the reason for the sudden boost isn’t clear, other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Litecoin also saw big boosts on Tuesday. Ethereum is up more than 10 percent while Litecoin saw a 15 percent boost, according to CoinDesk data.
According to Reuters, many analysts point to a major crypto order worth about $100 million from a mystery buyer for triggering the current rally.
Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie, chief executive of London-based cryptocurrency firm BCB Group told the outlet that the huge single order boosted the volumes on each of those exchanges.
The jump comes after a massive slump for the cryptocurrency market over the last year. Bitcoin fell over 75 percent in 2018 and is still well below its high of nearly $20,000 in December 2017.
Still, despite the recent declines, billionaire and bitcoin enthusiast Tim Draper is and has always been extremely bullish on the cryptocurrency.
“I am still very much optimistic. In fact more optimistic since I am seeing services like Lightning Network and Open Node working to make bitcoin ubiquitous,” Draper told FOX Business in late March during bitcoin’s slump.
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Draper believes by 2022, bitcoin will hit $250,000.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who are also big investors into bitcoin, are also unfazed by massive swings in the digital currency's value in recent months. Last month, the twins argued that bitcoin has the potential to become more valuable than gold as the public familiarizes itself with blockchain technology and develops trust in cryptocurrencies.