Bitcoin nears $10,000 as total value of all cryptocurrencies surpasses $300 billion

On November 28, 2017, the price of one bitcoin hit the magical figure of $10,000. At the time, it seemed ridiculous; Bitcoin was this weird internet money that wasn’t quite money and that cost a couple hundred dollars per coin just a year ago. 

The second most popular cryptocurrency at the time, Ethereum, had an even crazier run: from about 10 bucks early in the year to $480. Both cryptocurrencies then continued to rally before crashing far below those levels in 2018. 

Now, Bitcoin is once again on the brink of reaching $10,000, and Ethereum is very near $300, for the first time in nearly a year. 

In some ways, this bull run — and it’s definitely a bull run at this point — is very different from the last one. The market has matured; institutional investors have more avenues to invest in cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has solved some of the issues that plagued it in 2017; Ethereum is on the way to a total overhaul of its core technology, which may launch as soon as late 2019. 

A familiar run

But price-wise, it’s amazing how closely the current situation resembles the one in late 2017. It took three months for the price of Bitcoin to rise from $3,000 to $10,000. Right now, the price of Bitcoin is $9,791 according to CoinMarketCap. Three months ago, it was $4,083, and just four months ago, it was at $3,393. 

Just like in 2017, trading was choppy, with the prices sometimes dropping by more than $1,000 in a matter of days. But the bearish periods were short, and the price recovered quickly. Ethereum’s growth has been a little less explosive than in 2017, but largely followed a similar pattern. Right now, the price of Ethereum is $286. 

The $10,000 and the $300 price levels for Bitcoin and Ethereum, respectively, are important psychological barriers, and not only because they’re n