Bitcoin Daily: Bitcoin Tops $35K; IGT Wins Patent For Using Crypto At Casinos

Bitcoin’s price rally is continuing, setting a new record high of $35,821 on Tuesday night (Jan. 5), CNBC reported. Although it dipped slightly, its price still stood above $35,000 on Wednesday (Jan. 6), sitting at $35,277.69 as of 1:47 p.m. Eastern time.

Despite some recent ups and downs — namely, breaking above $34,000 on Sunday (Jan. 3) before promptly falling briefly below $30,000 on Monday (Jan. 4) — investors remain confident in bitcoin’s price run.

J.P. Morgan predicted the digital coin could hit $146,000 if price volatility decreases.

Account users remain confident as well, according to Bloomberg. Active bitcoin accounts are approaching the record high reached in December 2017, before the previous bitcoin peak crashed.

More than 2.1 million accounts were active in the past week, according to Bloomberg, citing Flipside Crypto. And as of Monday, active accounts — accounts in use in the last six months — held 82 percent of all bitcoin. Last February, that amount was only 44 percent.

The rise in active accounts represents a combination of new accounts and previously dormant accounts, representing increased confidence on the part of account holders, Bloomberg reported.

“Compared to 2017, the biggest difference we see is that people are far more active now,” Binance CEO Zhao Changpang told Bloomberg. “If they were just testing the water in 2017, they are really moving significant portions of their net worth into crypto now.”

In other news, slot machine players may soon be able to play casino games using cryptocurrency, according to Bloomberg.

Citing a newly granted patent, Bloomberg reported that International Game Technology was awarded a patent for a new system that would allow users to transfer cryptocurrency between their gaming establishment accounts and their digital wallets.

“IGT secured this patent to bolster its industry-leading patent portfolio in anticipation of any possible future direction in regulated gaming involving cryptocurrency,” company spokesman Phil O’Shaughnessy told Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, BC Technology Group, a digital asset company in China, announced in a press release Wednesday that it has raised 697 million Hong Kong dollars (about $90 million) in a top-up share placement agreement with Morgan Stanley as the placing agent.

BC Technology Group operates OSL, a digital asset platform that offers investors crypto custody, brokerage and exchange services, as well as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

“The placement is a major milestone,” said OSL CEO Wayne Trench in the release. “It allows us to invest in the tools to reach more institutional customers around the globe while also continuing to scale our SaaS solution.”