Bitcoin’s price is always in flux. After hitting the ceiling last year, the price of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency dipped quite significantly, with no one really being sure what the future holds. This year has been quite tumultuous for Bitcoin – in a span of only 6 months, the price has gone from over $14,000 in January to under $6,000 in August. At the moment, Bitcoin is stable at around $6,400, with experts predicting that its price could soar to a new all-time record by the end of 2018.
The cryptocurrency was given a notable boost in credibility this week after tech giant Google joined Facebook in scraping the ban on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency ads. This means that regulated cryptocurrency exchanges can buy online ads in the USA again. Google placed a ban on crypto ads in order to contain the thousands of online scams and it seems that the operation was a success.
At the time of the ban, the move by Google sent the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies down by about 10%, so the recent de-ban could move the price up. No price change yet, but it could happen by the end of the day.
The Market Is in a Buying Mood
Bitcoin’s price has seen large fluctuations in the past week, with its highs hitting $6,800 last Saturday before dropping to over $6,400 these past few days. The lowest price was $6,227 on September 19 before it climbed back up.
The 24-hour volume is currently sitting at $4,313,600,000, while the market cap is up at $111 billion, up from $110 billion last week. According to the current technical indicators and moving averages, the market is neutral with a tendency toward buying. The SMA 100 is once again over the SMA 200, meaning that the price could go up again or remain unchanged by next week. We’ve yet to see how Google’s move to de-ban Bitcoin and crypto ads will affect the price.
Bitcoin Makes Another Step to Mainstream Acceptance
Bitcoin has been trying to move out of the financial bubble and move toward mainstream acceptance since its inception with varied results. Although supported by many, it’s still yet to achieve global acceptance. That could soon change as Merriam-Webster’s Scrabble dictionary has officially added the term Bitcoin to its word list.
It’s another signal that Bitcoin is starting to enter mainstream consciousness, finally emerging from the fintech bubble where it has been stuck for a decade. The news from Merriam-Webster comes after rapper Eminem dropped a line about Bitcoin on his most recent album “Kamikaze”, which is another signal that society is slowly accepting cryptocurrency.
The price of Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies for that matter) has always been driven by public awareness. After rising up to $20,000 last year, Bitcoin lost more than 60% of its price, consolidating to around $6,000 this year. Last year’s price and bubble burst inspired a lot of media ‘appearances’ for Bitcoin, dividing experts between supporters and haters. Since then, the public has been more aware of cryptocurrencies and is certainly looking at them in a more positive light.