Bitcoin Hits $29K for First Time Ever, Raising HODLer Hopes for $30K by New Year’s

With the day’s surge, the leading cryptocurrency resumed its rapid upward pace after seeming to be catching its breath on Monday and most of Tuesday following a record-setting run over the weekend.

Bitcoin prices hit a high of $29,280.05 before dropping back to $29,231.01, up 5.28% in the last 24 hours. The price of bitcoin (BTC, +5.38%) has now risen more than 300% year to date and no doubt put visions of $30,000 in the minds of holders of the cryptocurrency, colloquially known as “HODLers.”

“Should the expected wave of retail flows materialize, I would expect to see bitcoin charge past $30,000 as we enter the new year,” Denis Vinokourov, head of research at the London-based prime Brokerage Bequant, told CoinDesk earlier.

Institutional investors are perceived to be driving this record-setting run. Among them: Anthony Scaramucci’s Skybridge Capital ($25 million in December); MassMutual ($100 million in December); and Guggenheim (up to 10% of its $5 billion macro fund).

With the end of the year looming, some fund managers may also be buying bitcoin so they can brag next year about being smart enough to get in in 2020 while neglecting to say at which price they had done so. This is referred to as “window dressing” on Wall Street.

In addition, the U.S. Federal Reserve, along with other central banks, has been printing money with abandon, trying to stave off the worst economic effects of the pandemic, while U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing Congress to allow for the issuance of larger stimulus checks. These actions are viewed by many as potential catalysts for inflation and bad for the U.S. dollar, both of which could be positive for bitcoin.