[ad_1]
Bitcoin’s price has surpassed $ 18,000 in what some experts attribute to global events and bullish cryptocurrency fundamentals.
The world’s leading cryptocurrency by market cap reached a high of $ 18,062 at 03:01 UTC, a price not seen since December 16, 2017.
Over the past 24 hours, bitcoin has fluctuated between $ 16,560 and $ 18,062.
Bitcoin is now up 146% year-on-year and has gained nearly 70% so far this quarter, according to data from CoinDesk 20.
“Some recent events have undoubtedly had an impact,” said Antoni Trenchev, co-founder and managing partner at cryptocurrency lender Nexo. “Institutional investments by the likes of MicroStrategy and Square, PayPal actively mining cryptocurrencies and the bitcoin halving in May” were likely to blame for the continued rise in bitcoin.
Others see global events like COVID-19 and negative interest rates in traditional markets, like Germany, as the outliers for bitcoin’s soaring rise this year.
“Interest rates are the most important factor in people’s decisions about where to deposit money,” said Ki Young Ju, CEO of analytics firm CryptoQuant. “I am confident that negative interest rates will drive adoption in cryptocurrencies, whether it is direct purchase of crypto / index funds or staking services.”
While bitcoin is fast approaching its December 17, 2017 all-time high of $ 19,666, ether also broke 2020’s new highs above $ 488 to settle at $ 489 at press time.
Another factor could be attributed to the easy money policies of central banks and the increase in public spending by some of the world’s largest economies, including Europe and the United States, in recent months.
“I think it basically depends on monetary and fiscal policy,” said Kyle Davies, co-founder of Three Arrows Capital. “Central banks can lower rates until they reach a slightly negative value, and then they have to print money.”
At that point, Davies argues, central banks’ reliance on freshly printed money will make “BTC attractive.”
