Bitcoin reaches new heights, surges beyond $7,000 in value

Why it matters to you

While it’s difficult to project what’s in store for Bitcoin long-term, its value continues to rise and rise.

Bitcoin has broken yet another record, having steadily risen in value throughout 2017. Earlier on Thursday, November 2, its price rose above $7,000 for the first time, peaking at $7,355.35, but it has since fallen by a few hundred dollars.

As a result, the total market value of all cryptocurrencies hit $189 billion for the first time earlier on Thursday, according to CNBC. Bitcoin alone comprises some $121 billion of that amount.

Bitcoin has been surging over the last several months. The value of the cryptocurrency passed $4,000 in August, then broke the $6,000 mark in October. It’s an incredibly exciting time for investors, but the question is when this upward motion will begin to tail off.

We’ve seen various different competitors enter the arena, from promising alternatives like Ether, to forks of Bitcoin like Bitcoin Cash. Despite this, Bitcoin remains bullish, thanks in no small part to the fact that it is a known quantity.

Cryptocurrency is still a very new concept and it has yet to reach the mainstream in any significant sense. Some retailers are starting to accept Bitcoin but they are still in the minority at this point in time.

Since Bitcoin is seemingly on the up-and-up and showing no signs of slowing down, it might be tempting to try to get in while the going is good. However, it’s far from a safe bet. It’s still very difficult to project what the future might have in store.

There are big questions to be asked about the legal status of Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency is founded on a decentralized platform, which could be undercut if governments start to introduce restrictive legislation. Its value could potentially fall just as quickly as it’s risen if key markets enforce new regulations that affect its usage — and since the field has become very crowded, a rival coin could perhaps take its place at the top of the tree.

Still, it seems that the Bitcoin success story is set to continue, at least for the time being. It’s probably too late to get started as a miner unless you have a high-spec system that is not being used for anything else, but if you bought in years ago when cryptocurrency was still a novelty, you might have a significant return waiting for you.

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