Bitcoin Price Hits $10,000, Surged 68% Since December

Bitcoin (BTC) has finally reached the five-digit mark after trading below it since October last year.

The top crypto was noticeably on a tear since Wednesday last week. After Friday, BTC was seen inching closer to the $10,000 level and was up by about a percent on Saturday. But the day that really boosted Bitcoin past its immediate resistance was its 2.65 percent climb on Sunday, which marked its fifth consecutive day of being in the green.

This week is also the second straight week that BTC capped off gains at an almost equal pace as the previous one. But what could have caused prices to move higher during the weekend? Is it all part of the bullish sentiment for BTC this year? Joseph Young, who writes for Coindesk, explained three possible factors.

Young noted that investors, especially in Asia, started accumulating Bitcoin since December when the price of BTC was under $7,000. The on-chain data of BTC/USDT shows that Tether movements were at its all-time high with a month left in 2019, according to cryptocurrency research firm Diar.

Whale manipulation is another factor that could have inorganically drove prices higher. Young called the attention to Bitcoin whale Joe007's statement, which identified other whales as the culprits of spoofing. Spoofing is when market participants place hefty buy orders for an asset to create an illusion of ample demand. Then, when prices trade higher, these orders vanish.

And the third factor that Young underscored is Willy Woo confluence of technical and fundamental factors that shows that investors' on-chain activity is rising.

Yet, there are also pure technical factors that could have contributed to the BTC rally lately. Last week, Filb Filb, who is known in the crypto community for providing spot-on price forecast, focused on a close above $9,500 on the weekly timeframe and stated that "every time Bitcoin turns $9,500 to support [on a weekly basis], it goes to $11,500." Right now, BTC is at $10,074, concluding the week above $9,500.

However, the bullish momentum that boosted BTC to 68 percent since December could also be in danger of a pullback, which could prompt sellers to find a prime spot for shorting if the price continues to tick higher.