Earlier this month it seems that Bitcoin missed its chance of hitting the ATH whenPBOC cracked down on Chinese exchanges and forced them to suspend withdrawals in order to implement better AML / KYC policies. However, Bitcoins price has been steadily climbing ever since the Feb 9th announcement. Today, Bitcoins price has hit an all time high on one of its biggest exchanges, the price reached $1098 on btc-e, breaking its previous peak of $1095.

As mentioned in last weeks Bitcoin price article,Chinas regulation reduced its impact on Bitcoin markets and let the western exchangestake some more control. Usually, it was the Western exchanges who had premiums on Bitcoins price, however after PBOCs actions, there is now a $40-50 premium to buy Bitcoins in China. Following these changes, other exchanges are seeing much more trade volume which is one prime reason why Bitcoins price reached an ATH on one of its oldestexchanges.

Founded in 2011, BTC-E is currently the oldest operating Bitcoin exchange. You may wonder why the price per Bitcoin on the exchange seems significantly lower than its competitors. Reason being is BTC-E isnt regulated, one can make an account using simply an email address, you do not need to provide any personal information in order to start trading. Furthermore, moving cash in and out of the exchange is difficult and takes a long time, as a result users mostly trade Bitcoins and use the exchange to hedge against the price. This creates somewhat of a large sell pressure which brings the price down.

Regardless of how low the price is compared to other exchanges, remember that even if you sell Bitcoins for cheaper, you can still use the same exchange to buy Bitcoins for cheap as well. One might argue that there are arbitration opportunities by using the exchange, however there are many complaints regarding moving cash in and out of the exchange and that it takes a long time and requires going through cumbersome process.

slvbtcfrom r/Bitcoin has complied a useful list pointing out each exchanges all time high.

MtGox = $1216

Bitstamp = $1163

BTC -e = $1095

Bitfinex = $1175

Huobi = 8000

BTC China = 7588

OKCoin = 7995

The 3 Chinese exchanges broke their 2014 ATH six weeks ago. BTC-e broke its 2014 ATH today. Just bitstamp and bitfinex left to topple. Which one will be last. Like watching dominos fall, once the last 2014 ATH is broken then its off to the races ladies and gentlemen. -slvbtc

Exciting times are ahead for Bitcoin, especially because the Bitcoin ETF decision is coming next month.If the outcome is positive, we may see a whole new spectrum of investors join the revolution. How far do you think Bitcoins price will climb? Do you think the Bitcoin ETF decision will be positive? Let us know in the comment section below.

If you liked this article, follow us on Twitter @themerklenews and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and technology news.

See original here:

Bitcoin Price Breaks All Time High - The Merkle