Yesterday, Bitcoin surged to $50,000, a more than 3-month high. The cryptocurrency continues to rebound since reaching similar heights in May but tumbling since. The unit climbed above the $50,000 level around 4:40 AM CAT on Monday, according to CNBC. The crypto was trading at around $50,095 at 8:45 AM CAT on Sunday.
Bitcoin hit an all-time high of over $64,000 in April, but sold off heavily in June and July, even dipping below $30,000. The primary reason, amongst others, for the drop off was increased regulatory scrutiny from Chinese authorities which has forced Bitcoin mining operations to cease in the Asian country, and move elsewhere.
Since mid-July, Bitcoin has seen a steady rise, and in the last few days, two key announcements have positively affected the top digital coin, and the rest of the cryptocurrency space.
Last week, Coinbase said it would buy $500-million in crypto on its balance sheet and allocate 10% of the profits into a crypto assets portfolio, and on Monday, PayPal announced that it would launch a service to aid people in buying, holding and selling digital currencies in the UK.
Other digital coins were also trading higher. Ether saw an increase of 1.8% at $3,302.59 early Monday morning. Ethereum, the blockchain network powered by Ether, underwent significant upgrades earlier this month which helped lift its price.
“Lots of large players took advantage of those prices,” says Vijay Ayyar, head of business development at cryptocurrency exchange Luno, adding that bitcoin could move “to test all-time highs again.”
Ayyar’s firm believes that Bitcoin will continue to rise into the future.