Bitcoin has quadrupled in value in six months

Thought that the days of cryptocurrency bubble are behind you? Think again. 

On Tuesday, the price of Bitcoin hit a new yearly high of $12,867 per coin according to CoinMarketCap, and that’s after crushing the psychological $10,000 barrier just days ago. 

To put things into perspective: The price of Bitcoin has quadrupled in just six months after hitting a yearly low of about $3,200 in Dec. 2018. 

The price growth has been relentless, even when many experts expected a pullback, or at least a pause. 

While it’s quite amazing that BTC isn’t all that far from its all-time-high of $19,900, which it reached in Dec. 2017, some traders are forecasting much higher numbers this time around. 

One reason behind the optimism is the “halvening,” a recurring event in which miner rewards for producing new bitcoins is cut in half. Typically, there’s a price rise leading up to this event. The next halvening will happen in about 329 days. 

Notably, while the price of Bitcoin rages upwards, nearly all other cryptocurrencies — collectively referred to as altcoins or alts — suffer in comparison. 

And just like last time, crypto non-believers are warning that the bubble may deflate at any time. 

Read our overview of recent developments in the crypto world for possible reasons behind the sharp growth. Bitcoin’s trajectory, however, appears to be largely decoupled from news — just like it was two years ago. 

One thing is certain: With growth like this, Bitcoin has (once again) heavily outperformed assets like stocks and gold and is likely to be the talk of the town — at least as long as its price keeps rising.