Bitcoin Surges On Libra News

The announcement of Facebook’s Libra has buoyed other cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, which gained in the neighborhood of 12 percent this week, to $9,477.

However, supporters of the coin want it to reach the $10,000 mark, a threshold which could be difficult to accomplish, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The last time Bitcoin got close to the $10,000 level was in May 2018, but it couldn’t close the gap. Also, Bitcoin’s relative strength index, which shows general price trends, shows that the token is close to overbought levels.

Ether is almost 4 percent and Litecoin has jumped about 6 percent as well, on the Libra news.

The surge for Bitcoin parallels the announcement of Libra, and Facebook is hoping that it will one day trade just like the dollar. Libra was announced in partnership with Visa, Uber and Ebay, among others, which has helped it with public perception that Libra will be adopted as more of a mainstream finance. It’s also tied to traditional currency.

“Facebook’s entry into the crypto space perhaps signifies the biggest network potential for digital currencies, capable of reaching into billions,” Christel Quek, chief commercial officer at mobile streaming platform Bolt Global, said in the report, adding it “indicates an upcoming shift in mainstream finance; this may see further revival and growth of digital tokens this year, as more developments emerge.”

The launch of Libra has also attracted the attention of regulators around the world, and the Group of Seven (G7) has called for an investigation into the supposed risks of cryptocurrencies and how they would affect the current financial system.

The G7 wants to create a working group that will investigate how to make sure that there are proper controls against the threat of money laundering with cryptocurrencies as well. Also participating in the working group will be the International Monetary Fund.

“The success of this venture depends on its trusted and safe integration with the existing financial system,” Facebook said on Tuesday (June 18). “The world’s governments, specifically regulatory and law-enforcement authorities, are essential partners in this endeavor.”