Bitcoin tops $3,400 as investor confidence boosts it to record high

Bitcoin tops $3,400 as investor confidence boosts it to record high

Bitcoin climbed above $3,400 to trade at all-time highs on Monday as investors gained confidence in the future of the digital currency.

Its price rose nearly 5 percent, to $3,451.86, up almost $600 from Friday’s $2,900 levels, according to CoinDesk. Bitcoin has more than tripled this year and has gained 18 percent in August.

“That’s what supports the cryptocurrency right now, confidence,” said Ronnie Moas, founder of financial research firm Standpoint Research.

“If there’s something that shakes people’s confidence in crypto then they will sell off. The further we get into this game the less likely you will get something like that,” Moas said. He said he’s “heavily invested” in digital currencies, and in late July he issued a report predicting bitcoin will reach $5,000 in 2018.

Bitcoin traded in yen accounted for nearly 42 percent of trade volume, up from about one-third in the last few days, according to CryptoCompare. About 26 percent of bitcoin traded in dollars, the site showed.

Bitcoin now has a market capitalization of about $56 billion. For comparison, General Motors has a market cap of $51 billion.