Bitcoin Rises Above $6,000 for the First Time in Six Months

By Kapil Gauhar

Bitcoin rose above $6,000 on Thursday, which is its highest level against the US Dollar since November last year.

The dominating cryptocurrency has been on a roller coaster ride since it hit a record high of over $19,000 in December 2017 before it crashed to a low of nearly $3,100 in December 2018. Since that time, it has had a slow recovery.

On Thursday, Bitcoin hit an intraday high of $6,096.03, which is the highest level since an intraday high of $6,295.95 on November 15, as indicated by the data from CoinDesk, that tracks cryptocurrency price on various exchanges. Bitcoin is up over 60% by far this year.

The price has been supported by an expanding enthusiasm for bitcoin trading from investment institutions. Fidelity Investments will begin to allow customers to buy/sell cryptocurrencies, reported by Bloomberg earlier this week. Other crypto trading platforms, such as Robinhood, have already begun trading cryptocurrencies.

But, the crypto trading environment still has its issues. Hackers, on Tuesday, stole $40 million worth of Bitcoin (7,000 BTC) from Binance exchange, which is one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms.

And Bitcoin is yet prompting fierce debate over its viability and future performance. Earlier this week, the major bitcoin sceptic, Nouriel Roubini, called cryptocurrency the “mother and father of all bubbles” at a conference. Roubini was debating with Michael Novogratz, the bitcoin bull and former hedge fund manager, who had a different point of view.

Novogratz stated –

“The reality is there’s a tremendous amount of stuff going on. In some ways, there’s been a small miracle. The debate is over, bitcoin won. It is now seen by people all around the world as a legitimate place to [store] their value.”