Bitcoin Daily: Bitcoin Rallies 11 Pct One Year After Topping $19K; Iran Sees Economic Potential In Blockchain Tech

One year after bitcoin topped $19,400, the popular cryptocurrency rallied on Monday (December 17) and broke through the $3,400 level, CNBC reported. Still, the outlet noted that the digital currency plummeted by over 80 percent since that time. According some reports, the cryptocurrency had its best day since the end of last month.

Of the changes, eToro Senior Market Analyst Mati Greenspan said, according to the outlet, “As a relatively new concept, crypto assets are still finding their feet in terms of value. It’s important to remember that all assets, in every market, experience a process of price discovery, and that cryptos are no different.” The price of bitcoin was $3,500.69 as of 9:06 p.m. per Coindesk.

In other news, an official in the Iranian government believes that the country’s economy could be strengthened with the help of blockchain technology, Coindesk reported. Alireza Daliri, a government official, said, per reports, “This is possible with empowering the infrastructure of the blockchain technology with the help of government and private sector.” The news comes a few months after the official reportedly said the government was creating the foundation for a national digital currency. That effort would tokenize the rial, the country’s national fiat currency.

And Change Healthcare, which is majority-owned by McKesson, might acquire healthcare technology company PokitDok per sources with knowledge of the matter, CNBC reported. The latter company, which is looking to use blockchain tech, allows startups to tap into the computing systems of health companies through application programming interfaces (APIs). For example, the APIs could be used to check the billing status of a patient or check a procedure’s price. As it stands, $55 million in venture funding is behind the firm.

On another note, ethereum has overtaken bitcoin cash when it comes to trading prices of the cryptocurrencies, Cryptovest reported. The outlet reported that bitcoin cash experienced a “dramatic decline” following the weekend. And it noted that ethereum still has a higher price and bigger market cap. The price of ethereum was $93.44, according to Coindesk, and the price of bitcoin cash was $88.48, according to Coinbase, as of 9:06 p.m. on Monday (December 17).