David Gray/Reuters
- Bitcoin is up about 22% in the first 15 days of the new year, notching its best start-of-year surge since 2012, The Wall Street Journal first reported.
- The digital currency is nearing the $9,000 threshold just two weeks into 2020, and crypto-enthusiasts expect institutional interest to drive prices higher through the year.
- Other cryptocurrencies have soared through the year-to-date, with Ethereum and Ripple up 29% and 23%, respectively.
- Watch bitcoin trade live here.
Bitcoin is already up more than 20% year-to-date, boasting its best start-of-year streak since 2012.
The digital currency is nearing the $9,000-per-coin threshold 15 days into 2020 as investors and crypto-enthusiasts project increased use of the tech in the new year.
The Wall Street Journal first reported bitcoin’s 15-day performance.
Other cryptocurrencies have also surged through the last two weeks. Ethereum is up nearly 29% year-to-date, and Ripple has gained about 23% in the same period.
Numerous factors are fueling bitcoin bulls’ hopes. Global markets company CME Group launched options tied to bitcoin futures this week, establishing a new vehicle for institutional investors to buy in to the crypto coin.
“I think you’re going to see greater mainstream adoption,” Michael Conn, a managing partner at Quail Creek Ventures, told The Journal. “You can see this happening already with Fidelity and other institutional players moving into the space.”
Some investing giants are already calling for the currency to soar through 2020. Jeffrey Gundlach – CEO and chief investment officer of DoubleLine Capital – recommended investors pile into bitcoin in 2019 before its 95% surge through the year. He recently repeated his optimism for the currency, and even thinks the coin could nearly double its value by year-end.
“I think bitcoin’s going to go higher in the near term. I think it could go as high as $15,000 in 2020,” Gundlach said in a January 7 webcast.
Bitcoin investors are also betting on the currency’s “halving” to prop up prices. The event is set to occur on May 12 and cut the amount of bitcoin awarded for blockchain mining in half. Demand for the currency will likely remain stable, but the drop in coin reward to 6.25 bitcoin from 12.5 can fuel higher prices for the digital asset.
The new-year rally follows a tumultuous year for the world’s biggest cryptocurrency. Bitcoin nearly broke through $14,000 in the summer as hopes for Facebook’s libra coin peaked, but fell through the second half of 2019 amid fading enthusiasm around the project and heightened regulatory fears.
Bitcoin traded at $8,756.49 per coin as of 10:50 a.m. ET Wednesday.
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