Bitcoin price exploded to a new record high on Thursday to climb above $15,000 for the first time in history.
Bitcoin’s remarkable gains continue with few signs of fatigue as the world’s first cryptocurrency broke new ground to soar past a dizzying $15,000 per coin on prominent US-based exchange Coinbase.
On the back of strong trading session through the early hours of Thursday (UTC), bitcoin rose to a new all-time high of $15,245 (Coinbase). In major markets like that of Korea, bitcoin price surged to a USD equivalent of $17,000. The extreme premiums underline the unprecedented demand and appetite for the decentralized currency that is resoundingly seen as a store of value for investors, beyond its utility as a currency.
At press time, trading data on CoinmarketCap (which factors-in global trading markets with price premiums) shows price reaching above $15,300, a gain of over 18.5% on the day. With today’s bull run, bitcoin’s market cap is now above $250 billion – over a quarter of a trillion dollars.
If bitcoin were dropped into the M1 index (the Liquid or narrow money metric), it would rank at #18 on the global list, above the likes of Australia and Russia.
Since the turn of the year, bitcoin is now up 1400%.