Bitcoin price has recovered from last week’s late tumble to push beyond the $1,200 milestone, as it makes gains toward the 30-day high of $1,229 on the Bitstamp Price Index (BPI) scaled this time last week.
Bitcoin prices began the week hovering above $1,160 through midday on Monday before a sharp spike at 14:30 UTC helped price jump from $1,161.45 to $1,190.07 in an hour. A brief correction ensued but the bullish trend remained as bitcoin prices began Tuesday at $1,177, climbing steadily to touch $1,200.72 at 05:00.
The positive gains stuck, as bitcoin price reached a high of $1,210 at midday.
At the time of publishing, prices have tailed off slightly with bitcoin trading to the dollar around $1,202, according to BPI data.
The gains come at a time despite fears among traders about the goings-on at Bitfinex, one of the largest USD traded bitcoin exchanges in the world. Yesterday, the exchange revealed that it will no longer be able to accept incoming wire transfers from today. The move triggered notable premiums in bitcoin prices at Bitfinex with a widening exchange spread between exchanges. At the time of publishing, BPI data shows bitcoin trading at $1,202.81, compared to $1,120.03 at GDAX and a near $60 spread with prices at $1,260 on Bitfinex.
A closer look at bitcoin markets over the past 24-hours shows JPY markets still holding its lead in traded volume. However, the distance between JPY and USD markets is cutting close, with traders seemingly flocking to Bitfinex to deposit bitcoin for USD, selling at the premium price. Over $27 million in bitcoin was traded in the BTC/USD pair at Bitfinex in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinmarketCap.
Elsewhere, the scaling debate that threatened to boil over into a hard-fork earlier this month has largely simmered down. Miners signalling Bitcoin Unlimited continues to find support over Segwit, according to data from Coin.dance.
The node count remains overwhelmingly in favor to Bitcoin Core.
Other real-world events that could plausibly influence the rise in bitcoin prices due to demand is the upcoming elections in France that is proving to be divisive and could have a telling impact on the future of the European Union as a whole. At times of uncertainty, bitcoin has proven a viable store of value for investors around the world.
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All time references are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Featured image from Shutterstock. Chart from BitcoinWisdom.
