Market News
Bitcoin price rally sees crypto market overtake world’s most valuable company - THE INDEPENDENT
BY Anthony Cuthbertson
The cryptocurrency market is now worth more than the world’s most valuable company after bitcoin and several leading altcoins surged in price on Thursday.
The global crypto market cap is now $2.37 trillion (£1.73tn), overtaking the $2.33tn market cap of Apple.
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The market has been boosted by a resurgent bitcoin, which has risen by more than a third since the start of October.
The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency hit a new five-month high this week, reaching above $58,000 to close in on its record all-time high of $64,000.
Ethereum (ether), Binance Coin, Cardano (ada) and Ripple (XRP) have all experienced considerable gains over the last 24 hours, rising by between 4-6 per cent.
The rally has reinforced price predictions made by several leading crypto analysts during the summer, when the market was experiencing a major downturn.
One of the most accurate forecasts to date comes from the pseudonymous Dutch analyst PlanB, whose June prediction for the price of bitcoin in August and September proved to be off by less than a third of a per cent.
The same price prediction model puts bitcoin on track to hit new record highs before the end of 2021.
Such predictions are prone to being derailed by both positive and negative news within the crypto industry, with the recent bitcoin crash prompted by a major crackdown in China on crypto mining.
Speaking to The Independent last month, PlanB warned that his forecasts could be “destroyed by a black swan even”, such as further bitcoin bans or a major geopolitical incident.
However, the recent roll out of the Bitcoin Law in El Salvador, combined with massive institutional investment, made him hopeful that bitcoin was preparing for the “next leg up” of its bull run.
Other analysts have drawn comparisons with the record-breaking rally that bitcoin experienced in 2013, which saw its price rise from below $100 to above $1,000 in the space of just a few months.
“Bitcoin’s current cycle appears to be playing out similarly to the 2013 cycle,” Simon Peters, a crypto analyst at the online trading platform eToro, told The Independent.
“A supply squeeze is underway and BTC is draining off exchanges. A move past the all-time high (ATH) this month or in early November would be in line with the pattern of the 2013 cycle, but we can’t be sure.
“That being said, focusing in on the drama of a fresh ATH is a short-sighted approach. In the long-term we should see prices increase and eventually a new ATH will come.”
