Over the past three months, the Bitcoin price chart doesn't look much like the charts for other investments, many of which - especially commodities - are way down.
Since Sept. 15, the Bitcoin price is up a stunning 93.5%, rising from $230 to about $445 today (Monday), according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index.
This sharp rise in the price of Bitcoin suggests the digital currency has recovered from the 2013 bubble and is poised for bigger gains in 2016.
Since hitting a 2015 low of $173.06 on Jan. 14, the Bitcoin price spent much of the year stabilizing between $200 and $300.
The Bitcoin price chart saw its first significant spike in more than a year in August, when it briefly broke past $300.
The current run started at the end of September - primarily driven by rising demand in China.
Why the Bitcoin Price Chart Is Pointing Up Today
The initial spike in the Bitcoin price occurred in early November. Volume on the Chinese exchange BTC China tripled in less than a month. The website ZeroHedge theorized the surge in Bitcoin demand from China was the result of the tightening of capital controls on the yuan.
The Bitcoin price jumped over $400 then fell back to about $350. But over the past three weeks, a second surge took the price of Bitcoin as high as $468. Again, demand in China skyrocketed, with volume on the Chinese Bitcoin exchanges zooming past the highs reached a month earlier.
These numbers prove beyond a doubt that China is drawing the Bitcoin price chart...
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In the past 30 days, the top three Chinese Bitcoin exchanges have accounted for 92% of global trading volume, led by Huobi with 52.50%. The Bitcoin exchange with the greatest volume of U.S. dollar trades, Bitfinex, had less than 2% of the total.
The tremendous Chinese demand appears to be connected to concerns about that nation's currency. The yuan has slumped to four-and-a-half-year lows in the past week as the People's Bank of China continues to allow the devaluation of the currency.
Why the Chinese Are Buying Bitcoin
The Chinese government has also cracked down on the use of state-backed bank cards (UnionPay cards) to avoid capital controls. As a digital currency that can be transferred over the Internet, Bitcoin is an ideal tool for getting around government-imposed capital controls.
But for ordinary Chinese, the devaluation of the yuan could be the greater incentive to buy Bitcoin. Converting yuan to Bitcoin today will preserve value otherwise lost. And if the Bitcoin price rises, the strategy will result in substantial gains.
Some have speculated that stories last week naming Australian Craig Wright as the probable father of Bitcoin had an impact on the Bitcoin price chart. But that's unlikely.
The best evidence we have is the massive volume on the Chinese Bitcoin exchanges and the well-publicized issues with the yuan that would drive Chinese buying.
"It's pretty simple in my view... A domestic Chinese investor is faced with falling yuan, falling commodity prices, and falling real estate prices. One of the few alternatives is Bitcoin, which is negatively correlated to all of this," Daniel Masters, head of the Global Advisors Bitcoin Investment Fund, told CoinDesk.
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About the Author
David Zeiler, Associate Editor for Money Morning at Money Map Press, has been a journalist for more than 35 years, including 18 spent at The Baltimore Sun. He has worked as a writer, editor, and page designer at different times in his career. He's interviewed a number of well-known personalities - ranging from punk rock icon Joey Ramone to Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Over the course of his journalistic career, Dave has covered many diverse subjects. Since arriving at Money Morning in 2011, he has focused primarily on technology. He's an expert on both Apple and cryptocurrencies. He started writing about Apple for The Sun in the mid-1990s, and had an Apple blog on The Sun's web site from 2007-2009. Dave's been writing about Bitcoin since 2011 - long before most people had even heard of it. He even mined it for a short time.
Dave has a BA in English and Mass Communications from Loyola University Maryland.