Bithumb: Bitcoin price exceeds $6,000, expected to surpass $7,000

SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 23, 2017 /CNW/ -- According to Bithumb (CEO Kim, Dae-shik), the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Bitcoin trading prices reached $6,100 per coin, surpassing $6,000, and is poised to reach nearly $7,000.

After a brief dip, Bitcoin prices made a rebound by exceeding $6,000, stoking up investors' expectations for a new record high.

Bitcoin, the world's leading cryptocurrency, gained the attention of investors worldwide when it reached a record high of $4,477, surpassing the $4,300 mark on August 15^th. When government authorities in China and South Korea took action to regulate the market for virtual currencies, Bitcoin prices plummeted to as low as $3,391, barely maintaining a range of $3,900 to $4,100 thereafter. The struggle did not last long, however, for the price began to pick up again to over $4,300 just after a couple of weeks.

Bitcoin is now preparing for another upsurge. Its trading prices reached $4,860 (as of Oct. 11^th, 12:19 PM) and is expected to surpass $7,000. Bitcoin's current market cap is approximately $79,171,130,434 and recorded $2,053,739,130 in daily trading volume, up by 52% from the previous week. South Korea accounts for 37.95% of the world's Bitcoin trading volume (Oct. 10^th, 8:50 PM, CoinHills), taking up the largest share in the global market.

The major factor in the rise of Bitcoin prices can be attributed to the upcoming hard fork, Bitcoin Gold (BCG) and SegWit2x, scheduled for October 25^th and mid-November respectively. The price increase is also attributable to the short-term price trend of Bitcoin. The digital currency hit an all-time high a month after it was split into two versions, Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), in August. Bitcoin was traded at $1,775 on Bithumb on July 16^th, but the price exceeded the $4,300 mark just two weeks after the hard fork that took place on August 1^st. The sharp growth eased the market's fear of hard fork.

Meanwhile, other cryptocurrencies are growing sharply in value. Since July, Ethereum prices have increased by an average of 7% every month. As of October 10^th, it is being traded for $2,991, up by approx. 27.8% from July 10^th. Ripple started at a trading value of $0.2 at the opening bell on September 10^th, and reached $0.27 in October, up by approx. 34.3% from the previous month.

In September, Bithumb listed Zcash (ZEC) after listing Monero (XMR) in August. With a total of nine cryptocurrencies, Bithumb has the world's largest trading volume for cryptocurrencies.

SOURCE Bithumb

SUNGMI LEE (ASSISTANT MANAGER), [email protected] / [phone] / [phone]; SEUNGYOON LEE (MANAGER), [email protected]