The price of Bitcoin passed the $5,000 mark early Thursday. It's price also reached a historical value of $5,226; this is not the first time Bitcoin's price has soared. Its price skyrocketed in December 2013 as well as mid this year. Bitcoin's Market Capitalization has now reached $86 billion.

Possible reasons behind Bitcoin's price rise

The price rise of Bitcoin could be as a result of its monopoly in the cryptocurrency market. Its market capitalization is 53 percent of the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies. Ripple's market capitalization comes second at 18 percent.

Majority of cryptocurrency transactions occur in the Bitcoin network.

According to Coinmarketcap, $2 billion worth of Bitcoins were transacted in the last 24 hours. Ethereum comes second with $383 million worth of transactions. High Bitcoin transactions show the high levels of interests the public has on Bitcoin.

Most merchants that accept crypt coins as a mode of payment prefer Bitcoins over other cryptocurrencies. Its gradual price rise over the years has also made it a favorite among cryptocurrency speculators.

The prices of cryptocurrencies are likely to rise as most merchants accept digital coins such as Bitcoin to surpass credit card charges and banking laws.

Other reasons as to why the prices of cryptocurrencies will rise are the presence of speculators.

Cryptocurrencies are a good investment compared to stocks and unit trusts. Their values are not determined by the performance of an economy or the profitability of a company but by market sentiments.

The future of cryptocurrencies

The future increase in the prices of cryptocurrencies will depend on government regulation. The value of cryptocurrencies plummeted early last month after the Chinese government began cracking down on Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) as well as cryptocurrency exchange sites.

Australia is also against cryptocurrencies because of their use in criminal activities such as money laundering as well as their use by hackers who demand cryptocurrency payments to decrypt personal data.

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin still operate with no regard to government regulations in most countries. Unethical activities such as money laundering, hacking of cryptocurrency exchange sites and digital wallets in this industry will result to increased government oversite to curb unethical practices within this industry.
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