Bitcoin traders are finally moving past the collapse of Tokyo-based digital-currency exchange Mt. Gox. The price of a single bitcoin BTCUSD, +0.99% touched $777 on Friday, its strongest level since February 2014, when reports that hackers had stolen millions of dollars’ worth of customers’ bitcoins from Mt. Gox, formerly one of the world’s largest bitcoin exchanges, sent prices plunging. Charles Hayter, founder and chief executive officer of Cryptocompare, which provides data and analytics about the digital-currency market, said this most recent price run-up is likely due to a combination of factors: President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, China’s continuing devaluation of the yuan and worries that Italians might vote “no” in Sunday’s referendum. Optimism about a coming software upgrade could also be a factor, Hayter said. Finally, elevated trading volumes in India suggest that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to scrap the country’s 500- and 1,000-rupee notes have also contributed to the increase, Hayter said. The Mt. Gox hack, which forced the exchange into bankruptcy, raised concerns about lax security in the unregulated digital-currency space, effectively ending an era of exuberance that had sent the price of a single coin to an all-time high near $1,200 just months before. Bitcoin prices have been steadily rising all year, with investors pointing to the softening Chinese yuan USDCNY, +0.00% as the primary culprit.
The price of a single bitcoin reached $777 on Friday, its highest point since February 2014, when hackers stole millions of dollars' worth of bitcoin from Mt. Gox causing prices to plummet. The recent price increase has likely been driven by Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, China's devaluation of the yuan and concerns over the Chinese referendum, according to Charles Hayter, CEO of Cryptocompare. He added that India's decision to scrap the country's 500- and 1,000-rupee notes could also be a factor.