Update: Bitcoin Aims For $20,000 As Ethereum, Ripples XRP, Chainlink And Litecoin Suddenly Soar – Forbes

Bitcoin has resumed its march higher after seeing some wild swings over the course of the U.S. election, hitting fresh near-three year highs.

[Update: 11:20am EST 11/05/2020] The bitcoin price has smashed through $15,000, up almost 10% in the last 24 hours, climbing to $15,310 per bitcoin on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange and renewing investor hopes bitcoin could return to its all-time highs of around $20,000, set at the peak of bitcoin-mania in late 2017.

Other top ten cryptocurrencies, including ethereum, Ripple's XRP, chainlink, and litecoin, have also made gains of between 5% and 14%, boosted by bitcoin's strong performance, and adding $125 billion the combined bitcoin and cryptocurrency market capitalization, taking it to over $430 billion.

The bitcoin price has climbed this week, reaching highs not seen since the late 2017 bitcoin bubble ... [+] burst.

"It was important for bitcoin to overcome the resistance area near $12,000," Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro senior financial analyst, said via email, adding the bitcoin market is now "aiming for $20,000."

"Once it was passed, the coin did not have any significant hurdles to jump to repeat the rally towards $20,000. All obstacles were crushed, and now any news background is perceived as positive for the leading cryptocurrency."

The bitcoin price had fallen sharply as polls closed on Tuesday evening, with early signs showing U.S. president Donald Trump could pull off a polling upset and win the election. Trump is projected to win 23 states, including Texas, Ohio and Florida, outperforming pollsters' predictions.

"Bitcoin has recovered from its post-election drop, crossing the $14,000 level once more," John Kramer, trader at market-maker GSR, said via email, adding that "the U.S. dollar was initially stronger as a Trump victory became a possibility, but has tailed off since then as Bidens numbers improve."

Vote counting is still underway in a handful of key battleground states across the U.S. which will determine the outcome of the electionand the extent of any future stimulus deal.

"We may not know what a post-election stimulus may look like, but investors continue to believe that the U.S. Federal Reserve will keep printing money at a pace that favors bitcoins finite supply," Kramer added.

Bitcoin has a fixed supply of just 21 million bitcoin tokens, something that has put it into sharp contrast with unprecedented government money printing, quantitative easing and stimulus measures launched this year, all designed to offset the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic.

The bitcoin price has soared toward $15,000, a level not seen since early 2018.

Bitcoin has doubled in price so far this year, finding support from a number of high-profile traditional investors looking to hedge against the inflation they see coming as a result of central bank money printing.

"Bitcoin has proven its extreme resilience during complex geopolitical events and this has come to the fore during the tumultuous U.S. election," Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer at bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, said via email.

"Regardless of the result of the election, it could be said that we are witnessing a growing recognition of bitcoins unique qualities as we adjust to just the sort of challenging times that the worlds biggest cryptocurrency was invented for."

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Update: Bitcoin Aims For $20,000 As Ethereum, Ripples XRP, Chainlink And Litecoin Suddenly Soar - Forbes