The celebration is in full swing as Bitcoin continues its upward momentum, reaching a new all-time high as it smashes through the $13,000 mark. This latest milestone comes less than a day after the digital currency hit $12,000 for the first time ever.
As of this writing, Bitcoin is currently trading at $13,128, a gain of over 13% in less than 24 hours. The current trading volume during this period is just over $9.7 billion and with a market cap of over $217 billion, Bitcoin is now worth more than 97% of S&P 500 companies, including Visa, Walmart, Coca Cola, Disney, and IBM.
The price of Bitcoin has been steadily increasing over the past several weeks, with industry experts saying that the trend is likely to continue in coming days. This latest price surge comes at a watershed moment in Bitcoin’s history, as it is seeing a marked increase in both interest and acceptance, especially in the financial sector.
The Party Ain’t Over Yet, Folks
On October 31, 2017, CME Group announced that it would be launching Bitcoin futures trading before the end of the year pending regulatory approval, which they received earlier this month. CBOE, TD Ameritrade, and Ally Invest will also be rolling out Bitcoin futures trading this month and NASDAQ will follow suit sometime in the first half of 2018.
As more and more financial giants hop on the Bitcoin bandwagon, the value of the digital currency is expected to continue its current ascendant trajectory. Experts in the financial sector are saying that this could be one of the biggest Bitcoin market shake-ups of all time.
Once launched, Bitcoin futures contracts would allow investors and traders to trade the cryptocurrency at a certain market value, something that would hedge against any risks that the digital currency may suddenly plunge in value.
Do you think that the current rising trend of the price of bitcoin will continue? Is the attention of the mainstream industry proving to give the prices a boost? Let’s hear what you have to say in the comments below.
Images courtesy of CoinMarketCap, Shuttestock
