Cryptocurrencies Making a Surprise Surge

Cryptocurrency markets are seeing a rare uptick today with some coins making gains of as much as 40%. Bitcoin is up more than 10% to trade at $7722 on Bitfinex.

It came close to $8000 and even surpassed the mark in some exchanges in early morning trading on Thursday before slightly retracing. The surge seems to have started in the Hong Kong-based Bitfinex before spreading to other exchanges. It is the first time in two weeks that the Bitcoin value has climbed this high.

Remarkably, the digital currency crossed both the $7000 and $8000 levels within minutes.

EOS Now Fifth Largest Cryptocurrency

EOS is one of the top gainers at one point surging by more than 40%. The momentum has slowed somewhat in recent hours but the upward trend is still strong. A unit is now trading at $8.8 according to CoinMarketCap having gained 26% in the last 24 hours.

EOS is now the fifth largest by market capitalisation. Steem is another top gainer after climbing more than 32% from the previous day. Ripple is trading at $0.57 after gaining more than 15% while Litecoin has only gone up 6% to trade at $122.

Cardano is one of the best performers at 26%. NEO and IOTA have gained 13% and 15% respectively. They are now ranked ninth and tenth respectively.

Monero is eleventh with each unit going for $184 having jumped more than 9% in the last 24 hours.

Ethereum which has been making significant losses in recent months is also making significant gains. The second placed cryptocurrency by market capitalisation is now trading at $470 on Bitfinex after gaining 11%.

No Single Explanation

The current trend cannot be attributed to any particular factor so far. Some have been speculating that institutional investors might be responsible. Billionaire investor George Soros is said to have authorised trading in cryptocurrencies from his fortune.

Short sellers might also be getting squeezed out of the market.

Almost all top 100 cryptocurrencies are in the green in a rare rally. Total market capitalisation now stands at more than $300 billion from as low as $250 billion a week ago.

Bitcoin Maintains Dominance

Bitcoin remains the most dominant cryptocurrency with a market share of 43.4%. Bitcoin’s share of the market has been increasing with the general downward trend this year. Investors consider it a safer bet compared to other coins.

Bitcoin is just over a third of its value in mid-December when it hit a high of $20,000. Having surpassed a critical $7500, Bitcoin might just have enough momentum to take it above $8000.