Bitcoin has risen above $12,500, its highest level in 2019. The new milestone comes just five days after bitcoin rose above $10,000.
Bitcoin’s value has risen by almost a factor of four since last December, when the price bottomed out around $3,200. Bitcoin’s price is still well below the all-time high of around $19,500 reached in December 2017.
Further Reading
Bitcoin’s rise is part of a broader rally in cryptocurrency markets. The price of ether, the currency of the Ethereum network, is up 11% over the last 24 hours to nearly $350. Bitcoin Cash, a bitcoin spinoff optimized for higher transaction volumes, is now worth more than $500 for the first time since the start of 2019.
Many other cryptocurrencies, including Cardano, Litecoin, and Tron, have reached 2019 highs—though all are well below the record highs reached in late 2017 or early 2018.
The value of all cryptocurrency in circulation has risen to a 2019 record of $370 billion.
Bitcoin has a long history of boom-and-bust cycles. So far each major boom has carried its value well above the previous peak.
In 2011, bitcoin soared to a record high above $30 before crashing to around $2. It rose above $1,000 in late 2013 before crashing to a low around $200 in early 2015.
Then in 2017, bitcoin had yet another rally that carried the price to a new record of $19,500 before once again crashing to a fraction of its earlier high. Now bitcoin’s value is rising once again.
