Bitcoin Soars Towards $13,000 (Update: Make That $16,000)

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Updated, 12/7/2017, 7:00am PT: Bitcoin's value continued it's upwards momentum yesterday and through the night. As of this update, the digital currency is now trading for more than $16,000 per coin. That's 25% more value than it was 24 hours ago.

Original, 12/6/2017, 10:30am PT:

The price of Bitcoin continues to rise at an incredible rate. Following Black Friday, the price of one Bitcoin topped $10,000 for the first time. Today, less than two weeks later, Bitcoin is trading at a more than 25% higher price.

Early this year, Bitcoin was trading for under $1000, but soon the cryptocurrency started crushing all time high values on a regular basis. In April, the price of one Bitcoin hit $1,300 for the first time, which eclipsed the previous all time high of $1,160 in late 2013. If you had bought in at $1,300, you would have doubled your money in a little more than a month. In mid-June, Bitcoin was changing hands for almost $3,000.

On September 1, Bitcoin nearly hit $5,000 per unit, but the value crashed to $3,100 the following week after the government of China announced that it would impose regulations on cryptocurrencies. We speculated that the dip could be a good buying opportunity for people who have faith in Bitcoin’s future. We would have never guessed that the investment would triple in value in three months, but that’s exactly what happened.

In October, Bitcoin hit the $5,000 milestone, and in November the cryptocurrency soared past $7,500, then past $10,000. Today, Bitcoin is trading for upwards of $12,500.

Will Bitcoin Crash? Experts Don’t Seem To Think So.

The value of Bitcoin has increased in value at a tremendous rate, and many people believe that the bottom will fall out sooner than later. Some people are calling it a bubble; others think it’s a Ponzi scheme. Still, many people have put their faith in cryptocurrency and its potential, including some of the wealthiest people in the world. Whatever your opinion of Bitcoin, there’s no denying that its making a lot of money for the people who own it.

Bitcoin is even producing some of the wealthiest people in the world. Last week, as Bitcoin rose past $11,000, the Winklevoss twins, who famously sued Mark Zuckerberg over the idea of Facebook, became the first Bitcoin billionaires because of their $11 million bet on the cryptocurrency when it was trading for a mere $120 per coin.

The upwards trend can’t last forever, but there’s no telling where it might stop. In the short term, you should expect the price to crash back down to reality. The comments section of Tradingview.com’s Bitcoin page is littered with technical analysis from users that suggests a correction is coming, and likely soon.

The long-term outlook for Bitcoin is of course unknown, but it has great potential to reach heights far beyond what we’re seeing, and financial experts are saying that Bitcoin could quadruple by next year. Michael Novogratz, a former hedge fund manager who bet big on cryptocurrency recently said he believes Bitcoin could “be at $40,000 at the end of 2018.”

Bitcoin has a finite supply. There will never be more than 21 million Bitcoins produced, and even with ASIC miners crunching away at the problem, it will take decades (and perhaps even a century) to uncover them all. As more people invest in Bitcoin and embrace its potential, the price of each coin should rise with the user base.

Tom Lee, a Strategist from Fundstrat, recently told CNBC that over the next 10 years, Bitcoin could reach $100,000 per coin. That sounds like a stratospheric number, but as Lee put it, if Bitcoin is embraced as digital gold and captures just 10-15% of actual gold’s market cap, each coin would be worth $100,000. 

And believe it or not, $100,000 is far from the highest Bitcoin value prediction. James Altucher, a former hedge fund manager and current Managing Director at Formula Capital, recently said that he believed Bitcoin could top $1 million by 2020. John McAfee, the eccentric founder of McAfee Antivirus turned Bitcoin-mining-farm owner, also believes Bitcoin will hit $1 million in 2020, and he crudely put part of his anatomy on the line to prove his conviction in that belief.

It appears that the wild ride Bitcoin has taken us on in 2017 isn’t over yet.

Kevin Carbotte

 Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years. 

30 Comments Comment from the forums
  • shrapnel_indie
    Only bad thing about it is, it means certain video cards will remain hard to get and with higher than MSRP prices. In fact it might mean even more cards will join the ranks
    Reply
  • nitrium
    Once governments/banks cotton on to the fact that no taxes can be put on Bitcoin transactions, and no possibility of QE and fractional reserve lending, and thus their very livelihoods are put at risk... well put it this way, regulations are coming and cryptocurrencies have no tangible future imo.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania
    Reply
  • Jeff Fx
    20455152 said:
    Only bad thing about it is, it means certain video cards will remain hard to get and with higher than MSRP prices. In fact it might mean even more cards will join the ranks

    Yeah, that's bad for gamers, but since I had to buy a pre-built PC to get the latest and greatest i7 during a shortage, and I already had a 1080ti, it allows me to make back the cost of the 1070 that came with the PC.
    Reply
  • Jeff Fx
    20455309 said:
    Once governments/banks cotton on to the fact that no taxes can be put on Bitcoin transactions, and no possibility of QE and fractional reserve lending, and thus their very livelihoods are put at risk... well put it this way, regulations are coming and cryptocurrencies have no tangible future imo.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania

    I think you're right. For cryptocurrencies to make it in the long-term, governments would have to collapse, and the Internet would somehow have to stay up in the chaos. This seems very unlikely. I just wish I knew when was the best time to sell.
    Reply
  • TJ Hooker
    20455152 said:
    Only bad thing about it is, it means certain video cards will remain hard to get and with higher than MSRP prices. In fact it might mean even more cards will join the ranks
    Are you saying that people will see the value of bitcoin which will inspire them to then buy GPUs to use as miners for other cryptocurrencies, or that new cryptocurrencies to mine will keep popping up in the wake of bitcoin's value? Because mining bitcoin with a GPU is long dead.
    Reply
  • nitrium
    BitCoin (and other cryptos) are all set up as classic Ponzi schemes, where the founders and early adopters mined the low-hanging fruit, while the those late to party now bear all of the cost of the price increases with ever decreasing returns. Further, once all the coins are mined (or mining is no longer financially viable) who ultimately verifies the blockchain (which will be several TBs big by then) which is required for every transaction? If some sort of server farm takes over that role, where will it be located and how much will they charge for their services? And so much for the much vaunted anonymity then too, since said farm can (and will be) subpoenaed for transactions.
    Reply
  • redgarl
    GPUs are not associated with Bitcoin mining, people should realize that. Ehterum and other cryptocurrencies are way more linked to the GPU frenzy. Unlike what others believes, I think new cryptocurrencies are still going to drive the GPU market. People who think it is going to go away are just wishful. Miners are jumping on other currencies that are more profitable and they are all exploding.

    Bitcoin are only at that price because the organize crime are mainly using it. The day it is going to crash, it is going to crash hard. Bitcoin should be ban entirely. They are used for drugs, weapons, hitman and human traffic. It is all the wrong of humanity at this point.
    Reply
  • shrapnel_indie
    20455421 said:
    20455152 said:
    Only bad thing about it is, it means certain video cards will remain hard to get and with higher than MSRP prices. In fact it might mean even more cards will join the ranks
    Are you saying that people will see the value of bitcoin which will inspire them to then buy GPUs to use as miners for other cryptocurrencies, or that new cryptocurrencies to mine will keep popping up in the wake of bitcoin's value? Because mining bitcoin with a GPU is long dead.

    Mining bitcoin using a GPU may be long dead, but obviously not everybody got the memo. Polaris based cards are still, for the most part above what they should be. Vega is above where it should be. Even some of NVidia's Pascal line (GTX-1060 mostly, 1070 somewhat) are still a bit above where they should be.
    Reply
  • TJ Hooker
    20455851 said:
    Mining bitcoin using a GPU may be long dead, but obviously not everybody got the memo. Polaris based cards are still, for the most part above what they should be. Vega is above where it should be. Even some of NVidia's Pascal line (GTX-1060 mostly, 1070 somewhat) are still a bit above where they should be.
    The shortage/increased prices of GPUs we've been seeing in 2017 has nothing to do with bitcoin. It's because of the rise of ethereum, as well as some other cryptocurrencies.

    "Bitcoin" and "cryptocurrency" are not synonymous.
    Reply
  • shrapnel_indie
    20455533 said:
    GPUs are not associated with Bitcoin mining, people should realize that. Ehterum and other cryptocurrencies are way more linked to the GPU frenzy. Unlike what others believes, I think new cryptocurrencies are still going to drive the GPU market. People who think it is going to go away are just wishful. Miners are jumping on other currencies that are more profitable and they are all exploding.

    Bitcoin are only at that price because the organize crime are mainly using it. The day it is going to crash, it is going to crash hard. Bitcoin should be ban entirely. They are used for drugs, weapons, hitman and human traffic. It is all the wrong of humanity at this point.

    Your argument sounds awfully like the arguments against torrents, but with different details. Bitcoin, in and of itself, isn't that much different in that it can be used to support evil, immoral, and/or unethical activities, just like torrents can be used for piracy, child-porn distribution, etc... Yet both can be used for positive things too. They are both just a "tool" that can be used for good or bad, depending on how people use them. I could argue that cars be banned because of one person in the NYC area who used one to plow people over and kill them... and in his own words continued to do so if he didn't wreck his rental. The rental car/truck was used for evil purposes instead of good that day. (There are other cases too, just not at the same level, or broadcasted as loudly since they aren't firearms.) Torrents can be used as an alternate distribution system for legally sold documents, media, and other software just as easily. The fact some businesses (Steam was one until they decided bitcoin was too unstable) accept it as legal payments also show that it can be used ethically, morally, and legally too.
    Reply