Bitcoin hit a two-month high which is a sign that the world’s most popular virtual currency is gradually recovering. The price surged past $8,000 today. However, it’s current value is still a long way off its 2017 peak, when it reached close to $20,000 amid due to a huge interest in the cryptocurrency.
The bitcoin price would later consolidate at $8,180 for a gain of more than 6%. Daily trade volumes surged 38% to $6.6 billion, the highest since May.
The latest gains also fall short of some analysts’ predictions, who forecast that bitcoin would rise above $10,000 in May and continue to climb.
At present values, bitcoin is capitalized at $141 billion, bringing its total market share to 47.4%. That’s the highest level since December and more than ten percentage points greater than the May.
Since falling below $5,800 last month, the bitcoin price has recovered 42%. That being said, prices are some 58% lower than the January peak.
Bitcoin vastly outperformed its altcoin competitors. Among the majors, gains ranged between just 0.2% and 5%. Excluding bitcoin, cryptocurrencies gained just $2 billion in market capitalization over the past 24 hours. With bitcoin, the market is up nearly $12 billion.
