Bitcoin price suddenly surges to 3-year high

Gains come amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty resulting from coronavirus pandemic and US election

'The long-term trajectory for cryptocurrencies is upward,' said one analyst

Bitcoin is approaching a new record price high after it suddenly surged on Thursday.

The cryptocurrency is currently trading above $15,000 – up from around $5,000 in March. It is now less than $5,000 away from the all-time high seen in late 2017.

The price gains come amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty resulting from the coronavirus pandemic and a drawn out US election.

Other cryptocurrencies also experienced significant gains, with Ethereum (ether), Ripple (XRP) and bitcoin cash all rising by between 4 and 10 per cent.

The 9 per cent gains for bitcoin over the last 24 hours comes after steady gains over the last month for the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency.

“In the last six months, bitcoin has steadily revealed its profitability,” Anatoliy Knyazev, co-founder of investment firm Exante, told The Independent. 

“When compared to other similar assets, bitcoin has been burgeoning  Though the value dropped in March, it has since added over 200 per cent to its value in recent months.”

Simon Peters, an analyst at the online trading platform eToro, said stimulus packages issued by governments in response to the Covid-19 pandemic could see bitcoin’s price continue to rise.

“Bitcoin’s creation was in part due to fears that increased fiscal stimulus is devaluing currencies globally. As a result, when central banks announce extensive plans to pump money into economies, many investors in the crypto community take this as a major bitcoin buy signal," he said.

“With the US election gradually drawing to a close, the details of a fiscal stimulus could become clearer. Any such package could see weakening of the US dollar and further increases in the bitcoin price going forward. "