Bitcoin Nears 2018 Post-Bubble Highs As Mainstream Adoption Drives Rally

Bitcoin’s (BTC) upward march continues unabated as the apex cryptocurrency gained 5.13% in a 24-hour period Tuesday — taking its market capitalization to $255 billion.

What Happened: At press time, Bitcoin prices hovered just below the highs not seen since June 26, 2019, when the cryptocurrency touched $13,796.49, as per CoinMarketCap data.

If Bitcoin were to breakout above the June 2019 highs, it would be at its highest since Jan. 4 2018, when it touched a high of 17,739.70.

Bitcoin touched its all-time high of $20,089 on Dec.17, 2017.

Other cryptocurrencies have followed Bitcoin’s lead with Ethereum (ETH), XRP (XRP), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) gaining 3.4%, 1.4%, and 2.95%, respectively, at press time. Litecoin saw as much as 4.49% gain at press time.

NEM (XEM) and Neo (NEO) were outliers to trend as they fell 3.48% and 0.97%, respectively, at press time.

Why It Matters: The cryptocurrencies are rallying on the back of news of increased mainstream adoption over the recent weeks.

JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM said Tuesday its "JPM Coin" cryptocurrency is now live, being used by a large technology company to send global payments.

Bitcoin closed above the $13,000 mark last Saturday —  for the first time since 2018.

This followed PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL saying it would allow its users to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum in October.  

Square Inc SQ earlier announced a $50 million investment in Bitcoin. 

Grayscale’s “Bitcoin Investor Study” on Tuesday revealed that 55% of investors in the United States are interested in purchasing Bitcoin this year, which is a 19% rise compared to last year.

The COVID-19 pandemic was cited as a reason by 63% of the respondents as being the reason spurring their interest in the cryptocurrency. 

Meanwhile, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC has attracted cryptocurrency lender BlockFi, which has picked up 5.07% of its total shares.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust closed 8.97% higher at $15.67 on Tuesday. 

Price Action: Bitcoin traded 5.13% higher at $13,746.81, Ethereum traded 3.4% higher at $407.37, Bitcoin Cash traded 2.95% higher at $268.43 and XRP traded 1.4% higher at $0.2525 at press time.