Stand back because the bitcoin touch paper has been lit and cryptocurrency analysts are expecting some fireworks as the price explodes.
Although the digital currency experienced a huge plunge in value in the first quarter of 2018, experts predict bitcoin will soon be back on track to surge past the previous high.
Bitcoin is worth around $9,000 a token currently – down from nearly $20,000 in the closing weeks of 2017.
The spectacular jump in value came at the end of a year when the price of bitcoin soared from $900 to $19,065
Rogue trader crack down
“I’m not surprised to see bitcoin’s price exceed $9,000 this week,” said Rodrigo Marques, CEO of investment platform Atlas Quantum. “Rumours of a price explosion seem to have been driven by more and more institutional buyers getting into cryptocurrencies.”
Analysts say the lack of regulation has held bitcoin back as institutional investors want to know their money is protected.
But the change is regulators are leaving bitcoin and other digital currencies to self-regulate while cracking down on rogue traders and coin exchanges whose erratic and sometimes criminal behaviour have given the sector such a bad name.
Financial institutions are now benefitting from the hard work developers have put into promoting the security of the blockchain technology that underlies cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin to break $9,000 mark again
“Ongoing regulatory concerns in key markets, they do seem to be dissipating,” said Marques. “If these concerns are addressed and there is even more positive movement related to regulation in these markets, there could be even more buying pressure to come.”
If bitcoin consolidates and passes $9,000, the glass ceiling is the $10,000 mark.
“Bitcoin is up over 15% in the last seven days and there are clear signs that the bull run is back. Over the past few months, bitcoin has lost nearly three quarters of its value but now investors are seeing a lot of value across the board and market caps are rising rapidly,” said Oliver Isaacs, a blockchain and cryptocurrency adviser.
Some experts are predicting even higher prices – entrepreneur and investor Alastair Milnehas suggested the price of bitcoin could top out at between $35,000 and $60,000.