A couple of weeks back when bitcoin first surpassed its previous $20,000 all-time high, many people thought that the coin would settle at a value slightly higher than its previously-attained record. However, the bull run had considerably more surprises in store for us.
After riding the uptrend wave to $40,000, bitcoin seemed to have settled in the mid $35K range, but yet again, this wasn’t all. Propelled by positive industry news and a true belief in its future as the world’s main digital currency, bitcoin has yet again increased, this time reaching an all-time high of $56,512. This places the coin on the clear path to $100K, and many analysts believe that this psychological barrier will be surpassed in 2021.
Similarly, a few weeks back, the entire cryptocurrency market cap was valued at under $1 trillion, but following its recent uptrend, bitcoin alone became a $1 trillion asset, with the aggregated crypto market cap quickly moving towards the $2 trillion threshold.
But what’s going on with bitcoin, and why did it decide to grow this much all of a sudden? As usual, bitcoin’s price entails a mix of fundamentals, technical analysis, and market psychology. Here’s an overview of what’s going on:
Elon Musk Endorses Bitcoin and Tesla Purchases $1.5 Billion Worth of BTC
“In retrospect, it was inevitable”, were the famous words of Elon Musk after taking a closer look at bitcoin’s value proposition and deciding to endorse it as a means of payment and wealth storage. The Tesla founder took things one step further, as his company’s board of directors voted on using cash that’s not essential for day-to-day operations to purchase digital assets like BTC. Furthermore, Tesla has announced that it may soon start accepting BTC as payment for its revolutionary electric cars.
Apple Will Support Bitcoin Payments Through Apple Pay
Following the Tesla announcement, people worldwide began to wonder whether other companies will follow suit. While Apple didn’t decide to purchase bitcoin, nor to accept it as a means of payment directly, the company did announce a partnership with BitPay. In other words, Apple fans worldwide will be able to pay for their products via BTC through BitPay’s payment services.
Uber May Accept Bitcoin as Payment
In a recent press statement, Uber’s CEO stated that while the company is not likely to start loading up on BTC yet, they are considering accepting the cryptocurrency as means of payment for car rides worldwide. This served as yet another positive boost for the coin.
People Worldwide Continue Shifting to Bitcoin for Wealth Storage
Overall, it’s easy to see that bitcoin’s recent bull run was fuelled by increased merchant adoption. However, there’s also a lot of growing interest from retail investors as well, who are now actively exploring BTC and other cryptocurrencies. Coupled with the huge institutional investor interest that leads to increased demand over a limited supply, it’s no surprise that bitcoin is ‘correcting’ to new all-time highs.