Bitcoin may be the lead dog in this race, but it's not alone. Following Bitcoin in the pecking order of the top three cryptocurrencies is Ethereum, worth $23.4 billion, and XRP, worth $9.5 billion.
When you add up all the cryptocurrencies being traded (a whopping 5,392), the entire crypto market has a combined value of $270 billion, according to data published Friday afternoon from CoinMarketCap.
Where investors should send their thank you notes
This surge didn't just happen by itself. More than anything, it's only been a matter of time and patience.
Matthew Fox at BusinessInsider says the thank you's should go to three elements:
The anticipation of the upcoming Bitcoin halving. Come May 11, 2020, Bitcoin is scheduled to be "halved." When that happens, Fox explains, 12.5 new Bitcoin rewards will be "halved" to 6.25 new Bitcoin. In theory, that will limit the future supply of the cryptocurrency coming onto the market and make the ones that people hold more valuable. "Basic supply-demand principles suggest a reduction in supply results in an increase in price," Fox said.
Evidence that institutional investors are starting to load up on Bitcoin. "Institutional investors allocating a piece of their portfolios to Bitcoin has always been a scenario talked up by bullish crypto investors," Fox said. And, now, "that talking point seems to finally be coming to fruition."
The growing belief that Bitcoin will act as a hedge against inflation. Paul Tudor Jones isn't a household name, but he's an acclaimed trader and founder of Tudor Investment Corp. Bloomberg News wrote that Jones is reportedly buying Bitcoin to use as an inflation hedge, banking on the fact that central banks around the world are printing money like crazy to assist coronavirus-battered economies. Jones compared it to the gold trade in the 1970s, according to the report.
Where did you put YOUR stimulus check?
Investing in cryptocurrency is not for the faint of heart. ConsumerAffairs’ coverage of the digital currency shows a rollercoaster ride of epic proportions.
That said, we found it interesting that -- according to a Twitter account covering stimulus checks -- if you had taken the $1,200 stimulus check and invested it in Bitcoin on April 15, it would now be worth $1,609.
And some did just that. Cointelegraph reported that when the stimulus checks started hitting people's bank accounts, the percentage of deposits and buys worth $1,200 increased over four times.