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Bitcoin's Price Edges Back Above $1,800 After Near $100 Gain
The price of bitcoin is once again above $1,800 following a recent uptick that comes amid increasing exchange competition.
By Pete Rizzo
Updated Sep 11, 2021, 1:20 p.m. Published May 17, 2017, 3:33 p.m.
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The price of bitcoin is up nearly $100 on the day, rising more than 5% to reach a high of $1,814 on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI).
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At press time, the average bitcoin price across major exchanges was $1,808, up from an opening average of $1,718.20. The increase follows a correction earlier this week in which bitcoin fell to $1,650, and comes at a time at which the market for blockchain protocols is becoming more competitive.
In particular, protocols like Ripple Consensus Ledger, developed by San Francisco startup Ripple for cross-border transactions, and ethereum, a blockchain for smart contracts, have begun to develop unique value propositions that appear to be winning investment dollars.
Ripple's XRP token, for instance, is up nearly 6,000% on the year, while ethereum's ether token was up nearly 1,000%.
The development has not gone unnoticed by exchange and brokerage operators.
In response to questions about how new customers are behaving, Bram Ceelen, co-founder of cryptocurrency brokerage Anycoin Direct, reported they are "pretty much buying everything", a statement that's consistent with the current speculative appetite.
"Altcoin volume might have even increased more than bitcoin volume [of late]," he said.
Andrea Medri, founder of cryptocurrency exchange The Rock Trading, however, voiced his optimism that bitcoin would continue to establish its own value proposition, even in such an environment.
"[Bitcoin] always retraces itself," said, adding:
"I'm coming from the times when it dropped from 10$ to 1$."
Rock climbing image via Shutterstock
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- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
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XRP drops 4% as traders watch whether $1.88 support holds
Price stabilizes near recent lows after a volatile pullback from above $2.
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- XRP remains range-bound in a tight consolidation between support around $1.88 and resistance near $1.93–$1.95, with fading volume pointing to a larger move once the current stalemate resolves.
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