The price of bitcoin keeps on climbing.
At press time, the price of bitcoin was roughly $950 on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index, a figure that was up $20 from the day’s opening price and just $70 shy of a three-year high for the digital currency. (The price hit a high of $1,023.31 on 6th January, 2014).
However, this total was notably $150 above the opening price observed one week ago on 21st December, when tokens running on the bitcoin blockchain traded for an average of $799.23 across global exchanges.
The 20% increase over just a seven-day span has so far drawn a number of plausible theories, including that bitcoin is improving on economic conditions in countries such as India and Venezuela and decisions by the US Federal Reserve.
Data reveals that the increase is the largest price swing observed since late July, when the price of bitcoin declined from highs in the $660s to the mid-$500s following a hack on one of the network’s most notable exchanges.
Yet, while notable for 2016, the rapid increase is by no means unique to the digital currency.
In late 2013, for instance, bitcoin rose nearly $500 to more than $1,100 from 23rd November to 30th November, before falling below $700 just days later.
Slinky image via Shutterstock; Price chart via CoinDesk