Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is on the brink of closing a monthly candle above $13,000 for the first time since January 2018.
If it can manage to close at $14,000 or above, it will be the highest monthly close in the 12-year history of Bitcoin.
The recent bull run is down to a number of key factors; PayPal’s foray into cryptocurrencies and an increase in institutional investment into the asset class.
PayPal’s decision to unlock pandora’s box of digital assets may not come as a surprise to industry veterans, but it will certainly provide a much-needed fiat on ramp for retail investors who may have been put off but clunky exchanges.
This, coupled with record-breaking investment from high-net worth individuals and institutions, creates a scenario where Bitcoin could quite easily set a new all-time high before the year is over.
MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor revealed that his company had made a whopping $475 million investment into Bitcoin in September, this preceded a $50 million investment from Square, the company that operates Twitter.
The reason why this rally is perhaps more exciting than the one in 2017 is that it seems far more mature. In 2017 capital was flowing into Bitcoin from the hype-drive ICO bubble, this time around it is old-school institutions and seasoned traders that are driving price action.
While in the short-term the outlook looks bleak for altcoins like Ethereum, it’s worth noting that in 2017 Bitcoin was the first to rally, only for altcoins to exceed its percentage gain while it consolidated.
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