Bitcoin prices saw a significant price spike this morning, briefly shooting above $1,300 to hit a new all-time high.Markets peaked at an average of $1,325.81, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI), before falling sharply back below that level to hit a daily low of $1,178.54 – a change of roughly $133 within minutes. At press time, the price is an average of $1,263.98, BPI data shows.The price developments come as the US Securities and Exchange Commission nears a decision on a rule change that would clear the way for a proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).That decision is expected today, though as of press time, the agency has yet to release any information regarding the ETF.Image via Shutterstock Update: This article has been updated to reflect that the price of bitcoin fell to a low of $1,067.20 on Bitfinex during the market drop.The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies.

Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists?Contact us at [email protected]/* */.bitcoin atm map ukPrevious Article How Bitcoin's P2P Layer Got a Speed Hike in the Latest Core... Next Article Bitcoin Exchange Bitso Trials Canada-Mexico Remittance...använda bitcoinBitcoin leaped to a fresh record high Tuesday, spurred by a jump in global trading activity.bitcoin gpu amazon

The digital currency climbed almost 3 percent to an all-time high of $1,442.58 Tuesday, according to CoinDesk.The currency has jumped almost 7 percent in the two days to begin May.github bitcoin walletAlex Sunnarborg, a CoinDesk research analyst, pointed to a spike in global trading volume, especially from Japan and its bitFlyer bitcoin exchange.plan b bitcoin podcastThere seems to be an increasing amount of capital flows into bitcoin from around the globe.ethereum microsoft intel"The biggest driver right now is you're starting to see institutional investors take a keen interest in the entire sector," said Brian Kelly, founder of Brian Kelly Capital, which recently launched a digital assets fund for outside investors.best litecoin android app

"I don't think this is hot money.This is real money that's going to sit around and build the new internet," Kelly said, citing his conversations with institutions and other investors.how to make bitcoin forkHe also noted that consensus in the bitcoin community has moved in the last several weeks away from Bitcoin Unlimited — which would split the currency into two coins — and toward an upgrade of the existing system, known as Bitcoin Core.6 bitcoin network confirmationsAnalysts also pointed to continued investor interest in other cryptocurrencies such as ethereum that are near record highs, driving further demand.These obscure digital currencies usually must be bought and sold with bitcoin, Sunnarborg said, forcing traders to buy bitcoin.Bitcoin (2012 - 2017) Source: CoinDesk Watch: Bitcoin prices on the riseBitcoin prices passed $900 today, though this feat was diminished by several rallies that ultimately failed to push its value above this benchmark.

Overall, the digital currency rose to as much as $904.76, after falling below $880 earlier in the session, climbing above this level amid modest volatility.Later in the session, the price mounted another comeback, hitting a high just above $905, according to the CoinDesk USD Bitcoin Price Index (BPI).At press time, however, the price had dipped again to a value of $894.95.This upward movement represented the latest session of relatively mild price volatility, at least compared to the sharp price fluctuations experienced earlier this month.Most notable, however, about the day's trading, may have been the lack of any serious decline over the day's trading.Bitcoin prices enjoyed their latest climb in spite of new Chinese regulatory developments that found the nation’s exchanges responding publicly to pressures from the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank.Still, market sentiment has been bullish, according to figures provided by a handful of exchanges, even with the confirmation that major Chinese exchanges Huobi and OKCoin had stopped offering margin trading.

The market was 91% long on 19th January, Whaleclub figures reveal.In addition, more than 53% of Bitfinex orders that were executed in the 24 hours through 22:15 UTC were buy orders, according to BFX Data.Bitcoin is "fully valued" and could see a pullback in the short term after hitting $1,600 for the first time on Monday, according to one investor, but the price could go as high as $4,000 over the next 14 months.The cryptocurrency has been on an upward move since April and was trading around $1,575.52 by early afternoon trading in London after hitting an all-time high $1,601.05 during morning trade, according to the Coindesk bitcoin price index.In the last 30 days, bitcoin has risen over 33 percent.Negative bitcoin news The rally may seem perplexing given that there have been a number of setbacks for the cryptocurrency.These include: The U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) deciding to reject a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposed by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

This is now under review however.An ETF would have given further credibility to bitcoin and helped more institutional investors get involved.A fierce debate over the future of bitcoin's structure.The full explanation can be read here.Issues with some exchanges, particularly Bitfinex, which cut off their access to the banking system meaning customers couldn't make withdrawals in fiat currency.So why the rally?At the same time, there have been some positive developments.Firstly, Japan legalized the cryptocurrency as a payment method recently and this has led to a greater amount of bitcoin being bought with yen, according to Aurelien Menant, founder and CEO of Gatecoin, a regulated blockchain assets exchange based in Hong Kong.The second reason could be to do with a change in the code of another cryptocurrency called litecoin.What happened with litecoin and why does it matter to bitcoin?Last month, there was a change in the code behind the technology that underpins litecoin.It is known as Segregated Witness (SegWit) and it allows the speed of transactions using the cryptocurrency to increase.

This has given hope that bitcoin could see a similar thing.Fork debate recap To understand the issue, it's key to look at how bitcoin transactions are processed.Transactions by users are gathered into "blocks" which is turned into a complex math solution.So-called miners, using high-powered computers work these solutions out to determine if the transaction is possible.Once other miners also check the puzzle is correct, the transactions are approved and the miners are rewarded in bitcoin.But there is a big backlog in transactions and the speed at which these are processed is slowing.That's because the rules of bitcoin only allow a certain amount of transactions through in one block.In mid-March, the price of bitcoin saw a big drop because the community was afraid of a so-called "hard fork" which could have led to two blockchains forming, and therefore two separate cryptocurrencies.But the example of litecoin shows that a so-called "soft fork" can happen which would increase the block size for bitcoin without major disruption.