Bitcoin has now been trading above $1,000 for more than seven days, enjoying its longest-ever stretch above this key psychological level and providing traders with new evidence of support at this price, CoinDesk data reveals.
Overall, the price of bitcoin has been trading north of $1,000 since mid-day on 14th February, according to the CoinDesk USD Bitcoin Price Index (BPI), though it tested this level at times over the seven-day, 15-hour stretch.
Bitcoin prices have even rallied in the last few sessions, surpassing $1,100 earlier today and reaching a six-week high.
At the time of the report, bitcoin was trading at $1,115.70, up 3% for the day.
Looking back, the current run compares favorably to other positive periods of bitcoin trading, dating back to 2013, when it first tested highs above $1,000.
Bitcoin prices remained above $1,000 for roughly two days from 29th November to 30th November that year, and again from 3rd December to 4th December, periods that saw huge volatility in the bitcoin price.
Bitcoin prices 1st November, 2013 to 1st January, 2014
Prior to this run, bitcoin’s longest period above $1,000 was from 2nd February to 9th February of this year, when it may have spent as much as six days, 23 hours above the mark.
Data from the BPI suggests that during this period, the price may have fallen below $1,000 on single exchanges, though averages were higher. Data from 3rd February, for instance, indicates a low of $995.87.
Bitcoin prices 2nd February to 9th February, 2017
New support?
In the meantime, it remains to be seen how strong the support for bitcoin above $1,000 will be.
Petar Zivkovski, COO of leveraged cryptocurrency trading platform Whaleclub, spoke to this strong performance, noting that traders have so far strongly resisted any movements back below this mark.
“The only pullback we’ve seen on the rise above $1,000 is from $1,070 to $1,040, which is a healthy sign of bullishness,” he said.
Cryptocurrency fund manager Jacob Eliosoff said that he believes the price is more stable than it was both in January of this year and in 2013.
“That’s not saying much though. I remain very worried about the state of bitcoin’s development and culture, and I won’t be at all surprised if we drop back to $900 or $800 in the next few months,” he said.
Eliosoff emphasized the ongoing developments surrounding Chinese exchange withdrawals and the upcoming SEC decision about the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF were two big points of uncertainty.
“After the dust settles on those, one way or another, price stability should come a little easier,” he said.
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