Bitcoin Price Breaks $7,000, Posting a New Record High
Bitcoin breaks another record as the price of the cryptocurrency continues to rise, driven by new bullish trading since Tuesday, Oct. 31. Speculation on the future of bitcoin drove its price to a record high of $7,034.14 on Thursday, Nov. 2, at 6 p.m. EDT.
Just three hours ago, at 3 p.m. EDT, the rampaging bitcoin was quickly closing in to the record when it climbed to a peak of $6,994.01, according to Coindesk. That accounts for a 2.8 percent gain from when the session opened with the cryptocurrency at $6,750 on Thursday.
This also marks the latest peak in bitcoin's rally over the past seven days, bringing its value up by over 20 percent, according to Coin Market Cap. That makes for an overall market value of over $116 billion.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Bitcoin first broke through $6,300, then $6,400 in the next day in its continuing rally since Tuesday, according to Business Insider. Confidence in the currency was mostly attributed to the news that CME Group, a currency exchange operator, was planning to introduce bitcoin futures soon.
"Not only is this a monumental testament to the belief in bitcoin and the demand in the market but it will also boost the liquidity by opening the market to many more interested players," Mati Greenspan from trading platform eToro, noted.
Another reason that could explain the market's overwhelming appetite for Bitcoin could be the upcoming update for the software that supports the trading operations for the cryptocurrency.
Called the SegWit2x update, the proposed changes are slated to take effect on Thursday, Nov.16, and will split the cryptocurrency into two. The earlier split resulted in the new bitcoin cash and bitcoin gold currencies, with bitcoin holders getting both for free.
The frenzy could be driven by expectations that the split, which will happen in two weeks, will result in a similar windfall.
Bitcoin, in general, has been rapidly rising this year barring a short-lived correction in early September. The cryptocurrency as risen by over 500 percent against the U.S. dollar so far in 2017.
