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Bitcoin at All-Time High Near $8,000

Bitcoin at All-Time High Near $8,000
Bitcoin at All-Time High Near $8,000

Bitcoin hit an all-time high just below $8,000 on Friday, on talk that a software upgrade whose suspension sent the cryptocurrency into a tailspin at the end of last week was, after all, going ahead within hours.

Talk that the upgrade—which could split or “fork” bitcoin into two versions—would go ahead was driven by a statement on the web-site of Coinbase, the world’s largest bitcoin company with operations in 32 countries, Reuters reported.

If a bitcoin clone were created, any holders would also in theory instantly become owners of the new spin-off.

Bitcoin, generally highly volatile, has been on a particularly wild ride, sliding at the end of last week to as low as $5,555 after plans for Segwit2x were suspended, before bouncing more than 40% since Sunday.

It reached as high as $7,997 in early Asian trading on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, before easing back a touch to trade broadly flat at $7,863.

Market-watchers said speculation about the fork was driving bitcoin higher. If it went ahead as expected, holders of the cryptocurrency would be able to sell the spin-off at a profit if the market were to assign it any value.

But in a post on the Medium blogging platform, the company’s communications director David Farmer said Coinbase did not expect the fork to successfully split bitcoin in two, as it lacked the necessary support from the network to do so.

Bitcoin is on track for its best week since July. For the year, it is up more than 700%.

 

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