Renewed Optimism as Bitcoin Price Nears $500

The price of bitcoin on the CoinDesk USD Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) rose more than 10% today at its peak to a high of $494.16, up from the day's open of $444.31.

The price increase brought the value of bitcoin to its highest total since late April, nearly one month ago.

The price of bitcoin on the CoinDesk CNY BPI saw a similar spike, rising to a high of ¥3041.89, up from its opening at ¥2769.04.

At press time, prices on both the USD BPI and CNY BPI had cooled somewhat, with the price of bitcoin observed at $483.54 and ¥3010.13, a rise of roughly 8% on each index.

The first significant market movement in some time, the day's activity could be seen as yet another sign the price of bitcoin may be poised for a bull run, as some analysts have speculated.

Narrative reversal

The news follows a steady stream of positive press for the industry, including the successful Bitcoin2014 conference in Amsterdam.

That even saw major speakers such as Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire and Bitcoin Foundation chief scientist Gavin Andresen give high-profile talks that may have helped refocus the community on the larger implications of bitcoin and its potential impact on the global finance space.

Additionally, it comes on the heels of a string of major announcements — such as Circle's product debut, BitPay's $30m Series A funding round and positive comments from US government agencies.

China worries fade

A main driver of the decline in the price of bitcoin had been negative news from China, once one of the digital currency's largest markets.

However, in recent weeks, announcements from the country have been more positive, or at the very least, less negative.

For example, Beijing's Global Bitcoin Summit took place as scheduled, despite the absence of major exchanges, with the event ultimately serving to introduce the wider bitcoin community to the wide range of startups that have entered the market.

Image via CoinDesk