• Bitcoin is once again booming after hitting the $8000 mark this past week. On Tuesday, the currency saw a new high of $8362.50. As of latest, the price has declined slightly to around $8200.
What’s even more interesting is how quickly the currency recovered from the recent negative press. That news involved the startup Tether, which offers dollar-based digital tokens.
Tokens worth $30 million were reportedly seized by the hackers and sent to an unauthorized address. Tether has outlined a plan to blacklist the stolen tokens in order to avoid them from contaminating the larger ecosystem. It will update its Omni Com software to implement a temporary hard fork.
At the news of the hack, the currency fell below $7800 level. After a short bearish period it resumed the incredible growth which has become synonymous with its name this past year. As CNBC reported, the Bitcoin network is likely to be unaffected itself given the small scope of the startup.
The hack pales in comparison to the past precedents; the Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox lost more than $450 million in a high-profile hack which led to its collapse, while Bitfinex lost more than $65 million in a hack last year. It makes the need of having a secure platform all the more important.
Bitcoin has already seen growth of more than 700 percent this year (alongside Ethereum which is up more than 4500 percent this year), recently on the back of reports claiming Amazon’s imminent support of the currency.
If the current momentum is continues, the currency could well fulfill veteran investor Michael Novogratz’s prediction of reaching $10,000 by the end of the year.