A visual representation of Bitcoin is displayed on December 22, 2017 in Paris, France. The price of bitcoin collapsed in January around the world, led by Asia. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)

The bitcoin price has today climbed above the $8,000 mark for the first time since mid-May — leading many to predict a return to the bull run that last year powered bitcoin to almost $20,000.

The latest boost for bitcoin comes after a week that saw it add almost 20% to its price on the back of news that established financial giants are looking to get in on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, and a raft of positive regulatory news around the world.

Meanwhile, the so-called bitcoin dominance rate — a measure of how much of the total cryptocurrency market is controlled by bitcoin — rose to 47% this week, the highest level since December last year, according to CoinMarketCap data.

The bitcoin price hasn’t been above $8,000 since mid-May.COINDESK

Here’s what’s pushing the bitcoin price higher right now…

Many have attributed the recent bullishness around bitcoin to the expected approval of a bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF).

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is mulling whether to approve the ETF, which was filed through the Chicago Board of Exchange (CBOE) by New York-based VanEck and blockchain platform SolidX.

If approved a bitcoin ETF would mean people are able to buy into bitcoin without having to deal with clunky exchanges that often struggle with cumbersome regulation and lack of public trust.

It would now appear the bitcoin ETF is likely to get approved, according to an unconfirmed report by the ICO Journal late last week.

The website reports that two sources, one at the SEC and the other at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), have said they are ”nearly certain” that the bitcoin ETF will get approval — a decision that many are expecting around August 15.

“I would call [the likelihood of approval] 90% at this point. The crypto markets have moderated and regulators have watched the lack of drama surrounding bitcoin futures across several global exchanges,” one of the ICO Journal’s unnamed sources, from the CFTC, reportedly said. “The price moderation and adoption of a peer product is what the conversations have centered around. In January we were justifiably concerned about a bubble and the harm a quickly approved product could attract speculators and create losses that led to significant lawsuits. Now, those factors seem to be mitigated significantly.”


Source and more:
Bitcoin Just Hit $8,000 -- Here's What's Pushing It Up http://www.sanwomi.com/2018/07/bitcoin-just-hit-8000-here-what-pushing.html



Lalasticlala
Mynd44
Ishilove
Marpol
Semid4lyfe
Obinoscopy
Seun

Good news.. time to do the needful