Bitcoin hits fresh 2019 highs, driving other cryptocurrencies up

The cryptocurrency market leader, bitcoin, surged to its highest level in almost six months on Friday, trading at around $5,800, as prices for other popular digital currencies also jumped.

Bitcoin was up 6.13 percent, trading at $5,796.11 as of 12:30am GMT, according to CoinMarketCap. Earlier in the day, its price reached $5,864, the highest point since November 14. At the same time, bitcoin market cap exceeded $100 billion, another record high for around half a year.

Other digital assets also rallied on Friday, with the second and third biggest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, ethereum and Ripple’s XRP, gaining 5.13 percent and around two percent respectively. Bitcoin cash rose 5.8 percent and was trading at $292.76. Rounding out the top 5, litecoin jumped nearly eight percent.

It is not immediately clear what triggered the rally. The entire crypto market has added nearly $10 billion in value over the last 24 hours.

The crypto market has been on the rise since the beginning of last month. In early April, bitcoin hit $5,000 for the first time since November, gaining more than 20 percent in one day. The surge was linked to a $100-million algorithmically managed single order for the digital asset.

Despite record highs for 2019, the price of bitcoin is still far below its recorded peak of the past 12 months, and even further from its all-time peak of around $20,000 in late 2017. Last May, the digital currency traded for nearly $9,800.

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