Bitcoin Blows Past $20,000 Barrier in Record-Setting Surge

At the time of publication BTC was showing no signs of slowing down and was already up to $20,837. Records are falling by the minute as BTC trends upward.

Bitcoin may not be done for the year either. At the time of publication BTC was up to $20,691 and the $21,000 barrier may soon fall as investors swarm the exchanges to join in on the growth spurt.

Many other crypto assets such as Ethereum, Chainlink and Polkadot also saw significant gains today.

To put things in perspective: Every person that has ever bought Bitcoin (and held onto it) is now in the green.

The Road to $20,000

Bitcoin’s journey to $20,000+ is particularly striking when you consider that a little over a decade ago it was worthless for intents and purposes.

It would take several years for Bitcoin to reach parity with the US dollar but since then it’s been a cycle of rapid growth followed by stomach-turning dips.

The Bitcoin hype cycle came to a head in late 2017 when a record-setting run saw it begin the year at slightly less than $1,000 before catapulting to a new all-time of $19,783 in December that year.

It would take Bitcoin nearly three years to return to that price point with lows of $7,000, $6,000 and even $3,300.

The last year has been a true roller coaster for Bitcoin. 2020 started with Bitcoin trading around $7,000. Like many assets Bitcoin plummeted upon news of the Covid-19 pandemic and hit rock bottom at roughly $5,000 in March.

Since March, Bitcoin has been on an all-time tear with new records set last month and uncharted territory ahead.

Where Does BTC Go From Here?

Now that Bitcoin has surpassed the iconic $20,000 barrier everyone is wondering where the digital currency will go next.

Many investors have targeted audacious price points like $100,000 or even $1,000,000 over the next few years but it remains to be seen what will happen in the near term.

Several cryptocurrency experts like Raoul Pal, Willy Woo and Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano expect significant gains in 2021.

Many experts point to the recent institutional investment in Bitcoin as one of the primary reasons this run is different than previous ones. BTC has been surprisingly stable over the last few months with no jaw-dropping drops to speak of.

Michael Sonnenshein, managing director of Grayscale Investments, had this to say about Bitcoin’s new-found value:

“It’s not a surprise to us that Bitcoin has hit $20K but it is a very symbolic threshold to reach at the end of what has been a historic year for Bitcoin. The sustained growth of Bitcoin and other digital currencies this year is a reflection of this ‘coming of age’ story for the asset class, showing the long term staying power and growing investment interest from mainstream investors and institutions alike. Remember, these are just the early days, and we think there’s a lot more runway to go.”

In the short-term, however, there could be a pull back as some of the retail investors take profits from the all-time high. Corrections are natural when assets like Bitcoin spike this hard but it remains to be seen if that happens this time around.

Bitcoin’s rise to $20,000+ is especially remarkable when you consider that year-to-date it’s up over 180%. That’s simply incredible growth compared to traditional assets like gold, S&P 500 and the Dow Jones.