Investing.com - Bitcoin has been on a tear this week, with prices of the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency rallying towards their highest levels in almost a year.
It was at $7,997.30 on the Bitfinex exchange by 5:25AM ET (09:25 GMT) on Thursday, not far from an earlier high of $8,319.80, which was its best level since July 2018.
Bitcoin's impressive rally has sparked hopes among crypto enthusiasts that a new bull run is getting started after it ended last year down more than 73%. While prices have yet to rebound anywhere near an all-time high around $20,000, Bitcoin has more than doubled so far in 2019, with prices surging almost 110%.
Jesse Cohen, Investing.com’s Global Markets Analyst, said the cryptocurrency’s technical levels are “looking much better” since prices broke above a bull cross for the first time in almost four years. This occurs when the 100-day moving average has crossed above the 200-day moving average.
Other cryptocurrencies have also been on the front foot this week, following Bitcoin’s move higher.
Ethereum has gained roughly 53% over the past week, while Ripple, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin are up 47%, 44% and 32% respectively.
The total crypto market cap, which stands at about $254 billion and is often used to gauge demand, has more than tripled from its December trough.
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-- Reuters contributed to this report