On November 27, the bitcoin price achieved a new all-time high for the second time in the past 24 hours, surpassing $9,771 and moving closer towards $10,000.
Yesterday, on November 26, CCN reported that the price of bitcoin established a new all-time high at $9,060. Within 24 hours, the price of bitcoin increased from $9,060 to $9,771, by nearly $700 overnight.
Since surging to $9,771, the bitcoin price has stabilized in the $9,550 region. Short-term indicators such as the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) demonstrate strong short-term momentum for bitcoin, and analysts such as Max Keiser and billionaire investor Mike Novogratz expect the bitcoin price to surpass $10,000 within this year.
Why is Bitcoin Price Surging?
The CME Group bitcoin futures exchange launch is imposing a similar impact the bitcoin ETF had on the global bitcoin market in March. The difference between the March bitcoin ETF anticipation and the CME Group bitcoin futures exchange hype is that the latter is guaranteed, given that another bitcoin options exchange in LedgerX has already been approved and regulated by the US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
To better understand the impact the emergence of government-regulated bitcoin futures exchanges will have on the global bitcoin market and the liquidity of bitcoin, it is important to acknowledge the fact that it is difficult for casual investors and new traders to trade and invest in bitcoin due to strict Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations
The month-long process of acquiring a bitcoin exchange account and the steps in transferring funds stored in exchanges to a personal bitcoin wallet can be difficult for new investors, especially those that have been in the traditional finance sector for the majority of the careers.
In most regions, bank accounts of traders are connected to stock brokerage accounts and investment firms like CME, Fidelity, and Goldman Sachs. In December, traders will be able to seamlessly move funds from their bank accounts to the bitcoin market, using the same infrastructure they have utilized over the past few decades.
As such, analysts like Bitfury vice chairman George Kikvadze expect tens of billions of dollars to flow in the bitcoin space in the short-term, larger than the figure provided by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, $10 billion.
Where Does Bitcoin Go in 2018?
The adoption of bitcoin as a store of value and as a payment method is increasing at a rapid rate. If second-layer scaling solutions are integrated by leading bitcoin service providers by next year, businesses and merchants will be able to accept bitcoin payments with low transaction fees from their customers.
In countries like Japan, major retailers and businesses like Bic Camera, Peach Airline, and Capsule hotels have already started to accept bitcoin through strategic partnerships with cryptocurrency exchanges.
If the adoption of bitcoin as both a store of value and as a payment method surges throughout 2018, the bitcoin price will likely increase at a rapid rate.
