Bitcoin prices are on the rise. Over the last week, the prices of bitcoin rose by 19%.
Prices opened at $209.93 last week with an ending price of $254.51. Sharp price increases are fueled by two major news announcements. Braintree activated payments for their US merchants and Coinbase opened the first regulated exchange in the United States.
Opening at $254.51, bitcoin prices skyrocketed even further today to hit a high of $307.97. Prices have since settled with an increase of 6.86% to $271.96.
Coinbase opening the first regulated bitcoin exchange is expected to drive prices much higher.
Braintree integrated coinbase into their software development kit last week, helping Coinbase secure further users as a result. Mega clients, such as Uber and Airbnb, are among many that use Braintree to run their payment systems.
Announcements from both companies were slow to reach mainstream news, causing a late week price increase.
Further news has bitcoin on the rise this week. Ingenico has integrated bitcoin as a payment option in all of its terminals.
The Winklevoss twins were also in the news with their own plans for a fully regulated bitcoin exchange in the works.
Analysts are stating that long-term investments in bitcoin are expected to rise.
Coinbase further secured funding from DoCoMo, a Japanese company. It’s expected that the company will be able to expand into the Japanese market as a result with DoCoMo promising mass adoption of Coinbase into their mobile devices.
Coinbase has secured $75 million in funding.
Recent funding has been secured from BBVA, a Spanish bank, and the New York Stock Exchange.
Bitcoin prices are expected to fluctuate greatly over the coming months. A current 19% surge last week and adoption of bitcoin amongst major payment processors is expected to keep bitcoin prices on the rise.
Investors that have dropped bitcoin from their portfolio may want to start investing in the cryptocurrency once again.