As we predicted in our last markets update, bitcoin markets were behaving like a shaken can of soda — waiting to pop. The bitcoin price rocket started its ascent yesterday surpassing the $4,500 zone. Then the price of bitcoin blasted to a high of $4,865 just 24-hours later on October 9. As the fork(s) loom in the backdrop, many people are speculating that altcoins are being sold off for BTC so people can get in on capturing split tokens.
Bitcoin’s Price and Trade Volume Surge
During the early morning hours of October 9, the price of bitcoin gradually lifted to the $4,650 range. However, the price train didn’t stop there as bitcoin’s value kept rising, reaching a high of $4,865 across global exchanges. Bitcoin trade volume has increased significantly since our last report reaching close to $2B in 24-hour trade volume. The decentralized currency’s price has wholly shaken off the 30 percent dip that took place during the first week of September. The top five exchanges pushing significant volume this week include Bitfinex, Bithumb, Bitflyer, Hitbtc, and the GDAX trading platform. Presently, these five exchanges are currently capturing roughly $544M in bitcoin trade volume.
Overall Cryptocurrency Market Sentiment
Market sentiment seems very optimistic even with the two possible forks coming in the near future. Altcoin markets, on the other hand, have seen better days as nearly every alternative cryptocurrency had dipped a touch before catching some of bitcoin’s positive rally around 5 pm EDT. Speculators believe over the course of the next few weeks traders will be dumping altcoins to get in on the upcoming blockchain split so they can accumulate the forked currencies. At press time the price per ethereum is $295, ripple $0.25, bitcoin cash $300, litecoin $50, dash $285, NEM $0.20, NEO $28, Monero $85, and IOTA $0.45.
