The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has rallied over the past few days and has again crossed the $10,000 threshold.
Bitcoin 7-day chart. Source: Coin360
On Aug. 28, Bitcoin dropped $600 in the course of a half-hour — sinking below the $10,000 mark before slumping to a weekly low of $9,362 on Aug. 29. The price has slowly recovered since then and is currently trading at $10,099, up 5.21% on the day, according to data from Coin360.
Last week, cryptocurrency investor and Galaxy Digital CEO and founder Michael Novogratz said that Bitcoin was in a consolidation phase, predicting that the impending involvement of institutional investors in the crypto space would fuel the next leg of the bull run. He said:
“Bitcoin started the year at $3,800, traded at $3,500 and now it’s at $10,200 and so it’s up 200% odd percent already. [...] It has had a huge run, and so I think this is a bit of consolidation.”
Bakkt’s effect on Bitcoin’s price
The long-awaited Bitcoin futures trading platform Bakkt recently announced that it will start accepting deposits for its custodial service Bakkt Warehouse on Sept. 6. The platform itself will launch trading on Sept. 23.
Analysts are uncertain about what Bakkt’s launch could mean for Bitcoin prices. The launch of Bitcoin futures on CBOE and CME precipitated the subsequent crash in early 2018, according to some.
Bakkt's futures contracts are settled in Bitcoin, meaning that investors will receive BTC in their accounts following settlement rather than dollars.
