Newsflash: Bitcoin Price Makes a Comeback to $650
Following a steep drop that began early yesterday, bitcoin price has scaled its way back up the charts toward $650 in a continuing rally today.
The Bitstamp Price Index (BPI) plateaued most of the day after a late rally last night to scale the $650 figure, following a low of $611.40, on Thursday.
The decline began at 02:30, early Thursday, when bitcoin price fell from $678.05 to $642.97 in two hours. Price traded uniformly for a 12-hour period before another steep drop saw value stumble from $638.40 to $617.15 in half an hour.
The subsequent rally began at 21:35 with bitcoin price at $613.56, climbing to scale $640 at midnight.
At the time of publishing, bitcoin is trading at $653.90.
That number is up nearly 50% from the cryptocurrency’s opening trading figures on January 1st this year, underlining a significant rise in the value of bitcoin this year. Observers point to the most obvious factor behind the price, with the upcoming block reward halving event that is anticipated to occur in under 36 hours from now.
For those not in the know, the miners who use their computers to add transaction data blocks to the bitcoin blockchain will see their rewards halved, come tomorrow. The very first batch of rewards in the lead up to the first halving event – a measure through which Bitcoin’s pseudonymous inventor Satoshi Nakamoto ensured that supply of bitcoin is controlled and prolonged – saw miners earn 50 BTC prior to the 2012 halving event. Since then, miners have earned 25 BTC. Come tomorrow, that number will drop to 12.5 BTC.
Market experts and participants have pointed to the halving event as the most influential factor behind bitcoin’s rise this year. It is notable that everyday investors in China have turned to bitcoin as a store of value, in a market that accounts for over 90% of bitcoin trading in the world.
The very anticipation of a rally due to the decreasing supply of the cryptocurrency could result in bitcoin owners refusing to sell, which could in turn help in a price rally in and of itself.
Mainstream news outlets and media are certain to dedicate coverage of the halving event leading in to the weekend. The coming weeks will provide a reasonable indicator of the event’s influence on the price of bitcoin.
For a live Bitcoin Price chart, click here.
For yesterday’s daily bitcoin price analysis piece from CCN.com resident analyst Venzen Khaosan, click here.
All time references are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Featured image from Shutterstock.
