Bitcoin surged past $1,700 on Tuesday, extending an astonishing rally that has seen the total market value of all virtual currencies more than double since the beginning of 2017. <\/p>\n
The price of a single bitcoin BTCUSD, +8.45% has gained more than $300 in the past week, to trade as high as $1,747 on Tuesday, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index, which aggregates pricing across a handful of the largest exchanges. Meanwhile, daily trading volume has surpassed $1.3 billion for the first time, according to Coin Market Cap. <\/p>\n
However, prices varied widely between exchanges. On Kraken, one of the biggest U.S.-based exchanges, one bitcoin recently went for $1,578, while simultaneously trading at $1,742 on GDAX, another popular U.S.-based digital-currency exchange. <\/p>\n
Price discrepancies were even wider across different markets, with coins trading on Korean exchanges like Korbit and Coinone in excess of $2,000, valued in Korean won USDKRW, +0.30% <\/p>\n
Spencer Bogart, head of research at Blockchain Capital, said the Securities and Exchange Commissions decision to revisit its rejection of the proposed Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund was one possible catalyst for bitcoins recent rally. <\/p>\n
But he said the massive appreciation in smaller rivals like Litecoin and Ripple has probably contributed to the bulk of bitcoins move: Many of these coins are denominated in bitcoin, so investors who wish to buy them must first have it on hand. <\/p>\n
The virtual-currency market has all the trappings of a bubble, Bogart said, though he thinks it could have more room to rise before a correction occurs. A correction is typically defined as a decline in an asset from a recent peak of at least 10%. <\/p>\n
Its definitely unsustainable, Bogart said, though I dont know if its in its final moments right now. <\/p>\n
Chris Dannen, founder of New York-based cryptoasset fund Iterative Instinct, said the massive wealth creation in the space has fostered a pattern where wealth shuttles back and forth between bitcoin and other alt-coins, or alternative cryptocurrencies. <\/p>\n
Though Dannen added that he suspects at least some of the recent run-up could be the result of manipulation by a handful of whaleswealthy traders with large reservoirs of cryptocurrency wealth, who use their relative heft in the marketplace to move prices to their advantage. <\/p>\n
Theres a group of whales out there, they kind of bounce around from coin to coin, he said. They clearly have a system. Its almost like the tide is coming in and out; you know theres a pattern. <\/p>\n
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Excerpt from: Bitcoin surged past $1,700 on Tuesday, extending an astonishing rally that has seen the total market value of all virtual currencies more than double since the beginning of 2017. The price of a single bitcoin BTCUSD, +8.45% has gained more than $300 in the past week, to trade as high as $1,747 on Tuesday, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index, which aggregates pricing across a handful of the largest exchanges Continue reading
\nBitcoin soars past $1700 - MarketWatch<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"