Bitcoin Rises Above $7,000 Following Binance Heist

Bitcoin held its value at more than $7,000 (£5,368) on Monday, after a sharp spike over the weekend that added to a rally that began earlier this year.

The volatile cryptocurrency started this year off at below $4,000, but jumped in early April to around $5,000.

It is now at its highest level since August of last year.

Analysts said there was no specific news event behind the jump, but pointed to a number of possible factors, including the asset’s perceived resilience in the face of a massive theft of more than $40m from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, last week.

Volatility

Investors may also have gained interest after Bitcoin last week rose above $6,000.

Other cryptocurrencies rose following Bitcoin’s lead.

Bitcoin made headlines in 2017 when it rose from under $1,000 to nearly $20,000 over the course of the year.

But the following year it lost some three-quarters of its value amidst a tighter regulatory environment.

Researchers at Canaccord said Bitcoin appears to follow cycles of approximately four years, perhaps due in part to the fact that the amount paid to bitcoin miners halves roughly every four years.

The financial services firm said this could see Bitcoin slowly regaining its losses to return to its all-time high of around $20,000 in early 2021.