Bitcoin is getting closer to the $10,000 barrier

The world’s most popular digital currency rose as of Monday’s trading to a new record high, being only a few percent away from the $10,000 barrier. After rising more than a fifth of its value in the past three days only, the spectacular cryptocurrency has risen by more than 10 times since the beginning of this year, and doubled its value since October.
On Monday, the price of Bitcoin rose by 4.5% to trade at $9.721 on Luxemburg’s Bitstamp, before closing at $9.600.
Digital data on cryptocurrencies showed that the famous exchange Coinbase has added about 300,000 users to its portfolio between Wednesday and Sunday only, during the US Thanksgiving holiday. Coinbase’s total number of users is currently 13.3 million worldwide. Their provided data shows that the process it nowhere near slowing down, and it seems that breaking the $10,000 barrier has become inevitable and it’s only a matter of time before Bitcoin achieves this, especially in light of the recent price changes.
What has helped Bitcoin so much in the last months’ surge is the announcement by the world’s largest derivatives exchange company, CME Group, that it will begin to provide futures for Bitcoin, and that it will be launched by the end of the year, without a fixed date.
So far, some investors have stayed away from this market largely because it is very volatile and risky, while also complicated to invest money in. On the other hand, we find that the launch of futures contracts for medium sized financial markets may tempt more investors to jump in.
Recent Bitcoin price rises have made Bitcoin’s “market cap” which is the total amount invested to $163 billion. The market cap of all digital currencies rose to $300 billion for the first time in its history – placing it higher than the size of Wal-Mart.
The huge rises in the digital currency markets were accompanied by warnings from bankers and investors, some of whom said that the boom in Bitcoin would be matched by a market closure, just like China did earlier this year.
The biggest rival of Bitcoin is Ethereum, which has risen more than 6000% and reached its highest price ever, at $500, on Monday, with a market value of $50 billion.