Bitcoin crosses $8,000 mark for the first time in two months

The value of bitcoin jumped 4.1 percent to $8,016.62 during Hong Kong trading hours on 24 July, the highest in two months.

According to an Economic Times report, this was still 60 percent below its peak value of almost $20,000 in December 2017.

According to data from CoinMarketCap, the value of a single bitcoin was $8,1847.79 on July 24.

Cryptocurrencies like Ether, Litecoin and Ripple also rallied on the day. The report stated that the total value of cryptocurrencies worldwide would be approaching the $300 billion-mark once again.

While there was no clear explanation to the rally, the report noted that Bitcoin’s value rose in July after BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced that a team would study ways of capitalising on the market as well as its blockchain technology.

Scrutiny from regulators worldwide and a series of cyberattacks on exchanges worldwide have kept bitcoin’s value on the lower side through the first half of 2018.

Two Korean cryptocurrency exchanges suffered cyberattacks in June, while Japanese exchange Coincheck was the victim of a similar incident where hackers stole $500 million worth of cryptocurrency in January 2018.