Strap in, friends, bitcoin is back. After spending most of the year in something approaching the doldrums, the cryptocurrency is enjoying a strong price rally, pushing it to its highest value of 2015.
Of course, trading for around $320 per coin is still a mere fraction of its former heights. But at the same time, if you picked up some bitcoin when it dipped below $200 earlier this year, the boost is likely welcome.
Via the fine folks over at Blockchain.info, here’s the chart:
The price of bitcoin is only one metric of many that can be employed to gauge the health of its larger ecosystem. Volume, difficulty and the aggregate hash rate are also useful barometers. However, when bitcoin’s price does rise, it generally enjoys a boost in public interest. Given that bitcoin remains a niche product, what it needs is just that: more attention.
After seeing an ocean of capital committed to bitcoin-related startups, the market may be in a period of self-correction. When Bitpay, a bitcoin payment solutions providers that has raised more than $30 million, recently cut staff, it was noticed.
A few things to watch for:
- Length of the rally: can bitcoin keep up its current head of stream, or will short-term profit taking slow its current rise.
- Impact of the improving price of bitcoin on consumer interest; provided that bitcoin can indeed pick up new adherents, the rally will have more than just a trading opportunity.
Still, bitcoin chugs along.