Bitcoin surges in the early morning! It surges 9% in more than an hour, breaking through $8,700 to hit a one-year high

In early Asian trading on Monday, virtual currencies collectively launched another round of rebound, led by Bitcoin, with the overall market value exceeding US$260 billion.

At around 2:50 a.m. Beijing time, Bitcoin, which had recently hovered in a narrow range of around $8,000, suddenly rose, rebounding above $8,800 at one point, reaching a high of $8,888, the highest since May last year.

As of press time, Bitcoin rose 9.5% on the day and was priced at $8,796.8.

Most virtual currencies rose, with Litecoin rising 12% in an hour and the rest rising between 7-8%.

(Image source: Zerohedge)

The rebound, which lasted more than an hour, pushed the overall market value of virtual currencies above $260 billion.

The timing of this round of price increases coincides with the release of poll results for parliamentary elections in some EU countries, which show that populism and extremism prevail. However, Zerohedge commented that there is no sign of buying pressure coming from this, and it is more likely that investors' safe-haven demand amid trade tensions has driven demand for virtual currencies.

Since the beginning of this year, the volatility of Bitcoin, which has been silent for a long time, has increased sharply, especially since May, when it has been rising rapidly from around US$5,500, with a cumulative increase of more than 60%.

Regarding the rebound since the beginning of this year, in addition to the boost from safe-haven demand, Wall Street Journal previously pointed out that many investors believe that increasing institutional support is the main driving force behind this round of market trends.

For example, Facebook is building a payment system based on digital currency. If this project, code-named "Project Libra", succeeds, it will likely subvert traditional e-commerce and become the largest mainstream digital currency application to date; in addition, Fidelity Investments began to provide Bitcoin custody services at the beginning of this year and is rumored to launch Bitcoin trading services.

*This article comes from Wall Street Journal (WeChat ID: wallstreetcn).