Bitcoin reaches highest value since 2017, breaks $30K mark

[Shawn Knight]

Editor's take: Bitcoin’s resurgence is being felt throughout the cryptocurrency and finance industries. It’s anyone’s guess as to where the cryptocurrency is heading next. It’s a lot like riding a roller coaster – you don’t really know what’s going to happen, you just hang on for the ride.

After hitting an all-time high of around $19,700 per in late 2017, the price of a single Bitcoin dipped sharply before bottoming out around $3,200 in December 2018. The volatile cryptocurrency got hot again over the summer and after riding a few peaks and valleys, it’s been mostly full steam ahead ever since.

On mid December we reported Bitcoin had broken the $20,000 barrier, topping its all-time high value. It's been less than a month and as of this writing, Bitcoin is trading just north of $32,000.

One study about Bitcoin's 2017 run claimed it may have been the result of market manipulation.

Cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin specifically, have benefited from recent interest in investment and financial services companies. Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy bought an additional $175 million in Bitcoin back in September. In October, Square announced it was investing $50 million (around one percent of its total assets) in Bitcoin, saying it viewed the cryptocurrency as an instrument of economic empowerment. On November, PayPal started letting users in the US buy, hold and sell four specific cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.

All in all, it's considered the this new boost has been driven by institutional buying. According to Yahoo Finance, Wall Street firms spent over $5 billion into digital asset funds in 2020. Between that and the pandemic, has resulted in a scenario where Bitcoin’s scarcity has become evident and possibly inflated.

Image credit: SPF via Shutterstock, JeremyWord

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https://www.techspot.com/news/87679-bitcoin-reaches-highest-value.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

All bubbles eventually find a pin.

 

[Uncle Al]

If you have a few spare million it would be at least as fun as the stock market ...... with a much faster turn around ....

 

[VitalyT]

There is a good chance to see this crap obliterate itself, like supernova.

Stock market is based on the company's current valuation. And Bitcoin's valuation is 0, which means it has no phycological top price, nothing to hold it down. This may result in the price explosion at some point, and as a result, nobody will be able to pay dollar to those who bought it, which will make the coin worthless.

Like say, if it becomes 1 million dollar tomorrow, you won't get your money back, it'll be as good as dead.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

If you have a few spare million it would be at least as fun as the stock market ...... with a much faster turn around ....

If you're rich, no reason you can't diversify your portfolio with Bitcoin.

My problem is convincing people who aren't rich to buy in with enticements they'll get "rich".

 

[scavengerspc]

Keep it coming bitcoin. Every last one I have I purchased in 2015 and I think the highest price I paid was around $290 each. I have never mined a single one.

If you're rich, no reason you can't diversify your portfolio with Bitcoin.

The thing is though would you recommend it now to your customers as an investment? I wonder how much higher can it go.

 

[kiwigraeme]

All bubbles eventually find a pin.

Sometimes we agree sometimes we don't - I beg to differ on this one.

Bitcoin is a controlled market - a few big players control quite a portion of it - so while they can't totally control it - they will ensure it's hard to fail as they will never sell low and have the ability to pump it once and awhile .
So my take - in the near future it is always going to roller coaster - so buy low - it will go back up -

It is controlled and has little mobility - Those big players have are probably doing some of the rolling.

Here in NZ - folks talk about house crashes - ignoring pent up demand or small dead towns , building constraints - The houses in main centres will never sell less than 10-15% max - as Kiwis would rather hold than sell in those markets - unlike say London that has huge mobility

 

[Squid Surprise]

There is a good chance to see this crap obliterate itself, like supernova.

Stock market is based on the company's current valuation. And Bitcoin's valuation is 0, which means it has no phycological top price, nothing to hold it down. This may result in the price explosion at some point, and as a result, nobody will be able to pay dollar to those who bought it, which will make the coin worthless.

Like say, if it becomes 1 million dollar tomorrow, you won't get your money back, it'll be as good as dead.

I love seeing people post stuff like this.... so, a Bitcoin is “worthless”.... why is a dollar worth more?

Currencies are worth whatever people BELIEVE them to be worth. None of them are tied to gold any more...

 

[EEatGDL]

Hahahaha, "volatile". Tech stocks are more volatile than BTC, they have been for the past two years. If you want to talk volatile cryptocurrencies there's YFI: so far up 163% in the last 13 days, in two trades, one closed and one position still open. Even then... cryptos is 10% of my portfolio. If they turn out to be as big as claimed, 10% is enough to easily outperform 90% in stocks; if not, I didn't lose opportunities in the stock market.

 

[Bulllee]

I always seem to detect an underlying lack of sophistication whenever Bitcoin surfaces on here.

 

[Knot Schure]

There is a good chance to see this crap obliterate itself, like supernova.

Stock market is based on the company's current valuation. And Bitcoin's valuation is 0, which means it has no phycological top price, nothing to hold it down. This may result in the price explosion at some point, and as a result, nobody will be able to pay dollar to those who bought it, which will make the coin worthless.

Like say, if it becomes 1 million dollar tomorrow, you won't get your money back, it'll be as good as dead.

IF if it worth 'nothing', could you kindly send me 1000 BTC please?

 

[JamesBlond]

Keep it coming bitcoin. Every last one I have I purchased in 2015 and I think the highest price I paid was around $290 each. I have never mined a single one.


The thing is though would you recommend it now to your customers as an investment? I wonder how much higher can it go.

The top cannot be reached with thinking and calculations, only by what people are willing to throw away, a fishbowl remains empty until somebody WANTS to put a fish inside, then the Goal is Water for the fish to live in, make your money and run, its going to pop when people realise it has no actual value besides what those throwing away money are willing to keep throwing

 

[spaceyjt]

The worth of BitCoin is very unpredictable. But I believe that it is better to have a few BitCoins at the moment, but sadly, I wasn't smart enough to get them when they were more affordable

 

[kiwigraeme]

The think I have fun thinking about - is folks who commandeered University CPUs to crank out bitcoins for fun in 2012 or whenever it was - and never grabbed them - so they are purged forever - or folks who threw away old hard drives with them on . Least that one guy got a researcher to break his unforgotten password .
Most of us probably had stories of money that got away - I would be a miilion NZ dollars richer - if I was just a travel bum for 1 year more . I sold London 1999 - house doubled in one year . So an extra $300 000 plus to buy a nice house in NZ 2001 - which would be a million now - plus savings on mortgage interest etc - Not too fussed - want my son to see me working as a role model - But I could easily fill my time as a gentleman of leisure- I'll still retire at 60 to spend more time in the outdoors - getting hiking fit-

 

[scavengerspc]

The think I have fun thinking about - is folks who commandeered University CPUs to crank out bitcoins for fun in 2012 or whenever it was - and never grabbed them - so they are purged forever - or folks who threw away old hard drives with them on .

There are stories out there to that effect.
My broker, among other things, has as much control over my bitcoin as my stocks, and her security is absolutely top-notch. Something to consider for everyone that has or will have bitcoin in the future.

 

[laughingman]

There is a good chance to see this crap obliterate itself, like supernova.

Stock market is based on the company's current valuation. And Bitcoin's valuation is 0, which means it has no phycological top price, nothing to hold it down. This may result in the price explosion at some point, and as a result, nobody will be able to pay dollar to those who bought it, which will make the coin worthless.

Like say, if it becomes 1 million dollar tomorrow, you won't get your money back, it'll be as good as dead.

I just sold a bitcoin for $18,000, so, when you say you won't get your money back you mean you are talking out of your back side right?

 

[terzaerian]

All bubbles eventually find a pin.

Yes yes, and as soon as the price dips 5% again you'll be crowing "AT LAST BITCOIN IS DEAD". I've been watching this scene since the 2010s and I used to be a sour grapes no-coiner like yourself. Give it a rest.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Yes yes, and as soon as the price dips 5% again you'll be crowing "AT LAST BITCOIN IS DEAD". I've been watching this scene since the 2010s and I used to be a sour grapes no-coiner like yourself. Give it a rest.

NO

 

[terzaerian]

NO

It's hard to lay down one's emotional attachment to watching someone else's experiment fail but trust me, you'll feel better when you do.

 

[Markoni35]

It's exactly those huge fluctuations, control by big players and unreliability why BitCoin can only dream of becoming a future currency. For now it's just one of those fun commodities on which lucky or well-informed people can make money, and the rest will lose money (because you can't win unless someone else loses). For something to become currency, it has to be stable. Nobody likes hyperinflation except a few sharks at the top.

 

[terzaerian]

It's exactly those huge fluctuations, control by big players and unreliability why BitCoin can only dream of becoming a future currency. For now it's just one of those fun commodities on which lucky or well-informed people can make money, and the rest will lose money (because you can't win unless someone else loses). For something to become currency, it has to be stable. Nobody likes hyperinflation except a few sharks at the top.

I've already used it more than once to buy things. Once Nvidia actually has cards in stock I could very well use it to get a new graphics card on NewEgg. It's only a commodity if you restrict your experimentation with it to third parties that treat it like a commodity.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

It's hard to lay down one's emotional attachment to watching someone else's experiment fail but trust me, you'll feel better when you do.

Thanks Giving Day

Bitcoin is at $16,700 after a $3000 selloff.

 

[Squid Surprise]

So we’re just going to bump this story every time it goes up?

 

[Lounds]

If you're rich, no reason you can't diversify your portfolio with Bitcoin.

My problem is convincing people who aren't rich to buy in with enticements they'll get "rich".

What would you recommend at the moment? I've sold my first house and released quite a bit of equity back.

 

[Michael7]

All bubbles eventually find a pin.

The million dollar question is can you pinpoint it - when or at what price it happens beforehand?