Bitcoin Clears $4,000: Where Does It End?
While most of us were relaxing, catching up on yard work, or doing any of those things commonly associated with a weekend, bitcoin was acting as if it were a Tuesday already and pushing for new heights. Man, did it ever reach them; the original cryptocurrency surpassed $4,200 and as of this writing is currently trading above that number.
Those looking for a reason to pin to the surge will be disappointed, because there doesn’t seem to be any one reason. There are, however, several potential reasons that are hard to ignore. First, there was the recent “hard fork” where some bitcoin was converted to the new Bitcoin Cash, a measure which doesn’t really seem to have affected the overall value, interest, or perceived worth of bitcoin any.
Further, a recent code modification known as SegWit went into place, also without doing any real damage. It also seemingly improving the prospective uses of the currency, allowing for more transactions to be stored in the blockchains involved, improving usability and making it more attractive in the process.
Plus, Wall Street seems increasingly taking with this technology as a noteworthy new speculation system, like a stock that’s been on the rise for years. Finally, a bubble seems to be clearly shaping up in initial coin offerings (ICOs) as more and more users seek to buy in early on what they hope will be the next bitcoin. Since bitcoin is the currency often used to buy smaller cryptocurrencies, that hikes its price in the process.
By way of disclosure, I actually own small fliers in a couple of different cryptocurrencies myself, mainly to see how difficult it was to get in. Granted, some were tougher than others; my Nexus buy, for example, took several steps, but my Travelcoin buy was a comparatively simple affair. It’s not out of line that some would be buying in on pretty much every ICO there is; who wants to miss out on the “next bitcoin,” especially after watching bitcoin go from 10,000 for two pizzas at Papa John’s to $4,000 apiece.
Cryptocurrency as a speculative tool will likely be around for some time. Cryptocurrency as a mobile payments mechanism may still be sluggish, early adopters like Overstock.com notwithstanding. Still, it’s going to be something to see for quite some time.