The price of bitcoin continued its recent tear today, rising $60 on the day to cross the $1,700 mark for the first time in its history.
At $1,700, bitcoin prices are up 70% already on the year and around $200 on the week, having climbed from $997 in January to set a string of new highs. Minutes before press time, bitcoin’s new all-time high on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index was $1,710.96.
As reported by CoinDesk, the uptick comes at a time when broader interest in the crypto markets appears to be increasing and winning new investors. While bitcoin is up 70%, alternative cryptocurrencies are up 600% since March.
The recent price rise, however, puts bitcoin at a level that analysts have suggested could prove a key resistance.
CoinDesk contributor Willy Woo, for instance, projected late last week that bitcoin was likely to hit so-called ‘channel resistance’ at $1,717. Should it break this level, Woo projected a bubble could form in the market, whereby the price had increased meaningfully beyond annual average user growth.
The development could place the wider cryptocurrency markets on uncertain ground, as analysts are already expressing concerns crypto assets have entered bubble territory.
Still, others pushed back that this applies to bitcoin, an asset seen as having more long-term utility and value.
Andrea Medri, founder and CFO of bitcoin exchange The Rock Trading, said:
“I’m not worried about bitcoin … most likely we will see a correction, but the long-term trend has been and will be always up.”
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