Is Bitcoin back? Cryptocurrency rallies more than 20%, but no one seems to know why

Everyone’s favourite cryptocurrency is back — at least, for the time being.

The price of Bitcoin has shot up more than 20% in the last two days, seemingly without reason. The sudden increase has also affected cryptocurrencies across the board, with popular alternative coins such as Ethereum and Litecoin experiencing similar growth.

This jump follows a long period of stagnant price growth for cryptocurrency markets, with the price of Bitcoin hovering at about $US4,000 ($5617) for the last three months, a long way off its heady peak of $US19,000 at the start of 2018.

However, market watchers and experts are baffled as to why the digital currency chose now to spike, with there seemingly being no catalyst for a price jump, with analysts labelling the jump a “mystery”. However, some have just chalked it up to the general volatility and unpredictability of unregulated cryptocurrency markets.

“Bitcoin is a kind of a beast which has the ability to score more than 20% gain on a daily basis and we have seen this kind of rally towards the end of 2017 before the price crashed,” Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst with TF Global Markets said in a report.

There was also speculation the jump may have been caused by an April Fools joke, with Bloomberg reporting a “spoof article” saying the US Securities and Exchange Commission had approved two Bitcoin exchange-traded funds may have caused prices to spike.

However, despite bulls’ exuberance over the long-awaited price jump, the support is unlikely to hold, with digital currencies already seeing drops across the board.

“The bounce is not enough to reset crypto winter as we have no major new products and last year’s big breakthroughs are still in their nascent stage,” crypto investment firm chief Julien Auchecorne told Bloomberg.

But when it comes to predicting Bitcoin prices, the one thing that’s clear is that no one really knows what they’re talking about.

Australian cryptocurrency startups have lamented the “crypto winter” in the past, with some having to delay ICOs due to languishing coin prices. However, some are still bullish, touting the strong fundamentals of blockchain technology.

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