The price of bitcoin continues to go up, now crossing $650 at the Bitstamp exchange. That brings the value of bitcoin up 12.8% in the past week and a whopping 45% in that past month. Immense growth, indeed!
As one would come to expect, the bitcoin community is very much excited about the recent uptrend, which highlights an over $2 billion increase of the digital currency’s market cap.
Of course, there isn’t any one single reason for the increase in price — but we have been observing a steady stream of good news from the bitcoinosphere over the past few weeks.
Some of those news items include Dish Network accepting bitcoin, Coinbase attracting 20,000 college students to their platform, a major New York law firm accepting bitcoin, BitPay processing over $1 million in payments per day, and more.
On two occasions last year, we saw two spectacular price spikes.
The first took place in April, in which the price per coin rose past $200. The second, slightly more exciting to community members, was when the price per coin exceeded $1,000 (it reached a high of $1,200+ at now-defunct Mt. Gox, whose prices were always higher due to withdrawal limitations).
In last week’s poll, we asked you whether or not you thought we were entering the next big bitcoin bubble. In total, 583 people voted.
62.6 percent (365 people) said that yes, they did think we were entering the next big bubble, whereas the other 37.4 percent said they did not think we were entering a bubble.
Let’s see what you folks think about this week’s poll:
[poll id=”11″]
Smartmoney 
sac2marin 
Richard 
Now who said bitcoin was dead eeehey ? 10,000 per btc here we come
Oh sweet, so all we need to do is buy a few bitcoin and soon we will all be rich. Can you believe all these fools jobs and retirement plans? Why not spend just buy bitcoin and retire next year as a millionaire?
wait and see ………..
;”A Limitless Future
“Overall, cryptocurrencies have a long way to go before they eclipse credit cards and traditional currencies as a tool for global commerce. They have displayed potential as an investment alternative, but are still not a must have asset class in your portfolio. In the next several years, cryptocurrencies are likely to evolve into a niche electronic currency that could become a realistic alternative to other electronic payment processing platforms.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/duncanrolph/2014/04/23/is-bitcoin-here-to-stay-a-quick-guide-to-cryptocurrency/
I can’t see how any such cryptocurrencies can ever get anywhere near even a fraction of, let alone eclipse, traditional credit cards (and their now digital wallet extensions), or even traditional international bank transfers, as a tool for “global commerce”! And Bitcoins will likewise unlikely ever be a realistic alternative to any other established electronic payment processing platform! Bitcoin supporters who believe otherwise are hallucinating severely and should seek medical help promptly …
The Bitcoin is effectively a “foreign” currency; even for a “local” transaction, a Bitcoin transaction involves the exchange of a “foreign” currency, with all the complications that such dealing entails. Anyone that holds onto Bitcoins is effectively speculating in foreign currency—this one about as highly volatile as any “currency” could possibly be. And if you think that the Bitcoin exchanges that deal in this particular foreign currency are going to do the exchanging any cheaper than traditional FX traders, dream on …
The latest Amazon/Bitcoins story is surely little more than another Amazon publicity stunt. Notwithstanding that some payees would prefer such a form of payment that, in its base form, has no possibility of being reversed, why would any sane buyer/payer choose to, firstly have to acquire such cryptocurrency and then forgo the system and statutory protections that come with the use of a traditional credit card for any online purchase?
Sorry, but I can’t ever see it happening; but then, maybe eBay’s Johnny Ho can …
And, “They have displayed potential as an investment alternative …”! They have to be joking …
In the last hour (yes 1 hour on june 2nd 2014, see fiatleak.com), more than 1000 bitcoins have been purchased worldwide around the price of 630 usd. Making the bitcoin the 8Billion $ usd it is today. What we can’t see doesn’t define what’s happening, it’s an observation of what we can’t see.
8 Billions usd “market”
I’m still trying to figure out why any payer would want to buy or use Bitcoins in the first place …