Bitcoin Price Rises Near $9K; Litecoin, Binance Far Exceed Bitcoin’s Growth

Bitcoin reached $8,937.25 early on Monday (May 27) — its highest level in more than 12 months.

And analysts have pointed to a boost on Google Trends for the keyword ‘bitcoin,’ which might suggest renewed interest in the crypto. In fact, Crypto Rand, a website dedicated to bitcoin news and trends, said the digital currency could possibly go even higher — even predicting that it will soar past $10,000.

In a tweet, the website said: “$10,000 is the next stop,” according to the Daily Express.

And while bitcoin price has seen a surge, alternative cryptocurrencies like Litecoin, Binance Coin, and Bitcoin Cash are also on an upswing.  But while Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BitcoinSV) increased more than 60 percent last week, analysis firm Delphi Digital was quick to point out that the controversial crypto is still one of the worst performers year-to-date.

“Historically higher beta names like LTC and BCH outperformed, as some alternative crypto assets played a bit of catch up to Bitcoin,” reads Delphi Digital’s latest market commentary, according to Hard Fork. “Return dispersion was a bit more widespread, while a few of last week’s winners (NEM, XLM, ADA) ended last week in negative territory.”

The firm also reported that bitcoin has steadily delivered positive year-on-year returns since 2013, with the median return for holding bitcoin over 12 months at 160 percent, and median returns for six months at almost 47 percent.

“Similar claims can be made for shorter time horizons as well, though the percentage of time bitcoin spends in positive territory decreases the shorter the period we examine,” said Delphi Digital.

One person who isn’t jumping on the bitcoin bandwagon: Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright, who has claimed that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin.

Wright has warned that bitcoin will eventually disappear because it’s being used to facilitate criminal activity, which is against his original vision for the cryptocurrency.

“I designed Bitcoin in a way that ensures that groups such as Binance who seek to facilitate money laundering and crime will always fail. They defraud you in telling you that they are decentralized and cannot be controlled. A blockchain is only decentralized when the developers and those in charge of the protocol cannot change the rules. Bitcoin is a system that was set in stone. If the protocol is changed, then it shows and demonstrates it is not Bitcoin. When those involved altered the rules, they impacted their entire ecosystem — it is a centralized power structure. They defraud you when they lie about decentralization and tell you that they have no ability to change things but then alter the rules. When those in power are able to change the protocol, they can change the lives and the finances of those involved in the system at an arbitrary whim. It is why BTC is not Bitcoin,” he wrote in a blog post.