Bitcoin Price

We Have Liftoff: Bitcoin Price Rockets Past $3000 Record High

Matthew Neuteboom | Aug 05, 2017 | 11:30

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Bitcoin’s price reached historic new highs at $3230 late last night, while Bitcoin Cash settled below $300.

Enthusiasm has finally picked back up amidst the volatility following August 1’s hard fork, and Bitcoin has a brand new price tag to show for it. Bitcoin shattered its previous record high of $3000 last night, while Bitcoin Cash took another haircut and has settled at around $285.

The 3k price represents a notorious resistance level for Bitcoin, one which infamously ended BTC’s previous bull run in mid-June. BTC’s price had just barely grazed the 3k level before a massive sell-off sent it plummeting to around $2,500 in one of the currency’s largest single day losses.

Since then, many have waited for Bitcoin to return to its previous highs as prices stubbornly hovered around the mid-2k range for much of June and July. Market volatility leading up to the August 1 UASF activation drove it down even further below $2000 before SegWit2x signaling finally restored prices to around $2600 in mid-July.

BCH Down, Other Cryptos Up

On the other hand, Bitcoin Cash (BCC/BCH) took another hit last night as BTC climbed. Although BCH launched at $200 and then skyrocketed to $1000 quickly after the fork, it has since been slowly losing value in its first six days of trading. It lost just over 20% value in the past 24 hours of trading.

Many have already pointed out that BCH’s inflated price was a result of being unable to withdraw BCH funds from various wallets and exchanges, leading to low market liquidity. Once these issues were resolved and trading re-commenced, however, the price plummeted to around $400 and has since continued to dip.

No one can move coins so the price is totally out of whack. A block hasn't been mined in over 12 hours. 😱

— elizabeth stark (@starkness) August 2, 2017

Regardless, it appears that things have been going well for traders who held on to both coins. Although many traders reaped large profits from selling off their BCH while prices were high, both coins’ combined value is now just under $3500. It remains to be seen if BCH’s price will dip further before stabilizing.

Other cryptocurrencies are also faring well during this new boom. Ethereum is recovering previous losses and is now roughly $238. Litecoin shot up from $43 to $46 and is currently holding there. Ripple prices have also just recently spiked to $0.185, up from $0.175 last night.

A Milestone for Bitcoin

BTC’s new price marks a historic moment for users of the digital currency, who have waited with baited breath to see the outcome of August 1. Many have long awaited a resolution to the contentious scaling debates which have dogged the community for months.

Although Bitcoin’s scaling issues are by no means over (there’s still the 2x part to implement in November), for now, users can breathe a collective sigh of relief that Bitcoin is now sailing in smoother waters.

Do you think Bitcoin’s prices will stay above $3000? Did you hold both your BTC and BCH, or have you dumped either coin yet? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of CryptoCompare, Twitter