Bitcoin Hits $10,000 Mark But Other Currencies Impress in the Market

Bitcoin finally -- finally -- regained its over-$10,000 USD value. For the first time since December of 2017, Bitcoin hit that mark despite fears from investors of a potential lull. 

At the end of Feb. 16, the total value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies topped at $471 billion according to CoinMarketCap. This makes it an over 22 percent increase since last Friday alone. During the recent low of bitcoin (which hit on Feb. 6), cryptocurrencies in total dropped to $276 billion. However, bitcoin has suffered most of the dynamics.

"Market data indicates that price action on exchanges like GDAX saw the push above $10,000, with a notable green candle emerging. Bitstamp, itBit and Kraken, among others, also saw the price pop past $10,000," the website reported. 

At the time of this writing, bitcoin's value currently sits at over $10,500 USD. 

While bitcoin's return to over $10,000 status is impressive, it's not the biggest gains made by cryptocurrencies this week. Other cryptocurrencies helped boost the industry's recovery after an abysmal January performance. 

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Litecoin, for example, came away as one of the biggest winners with a significant gain. Ethereum Classic (ETC) also made significant gains to its highest level since Jan 21 of this year. In total, ETC has made over 135 percent gains since the February slump on the 6th. 

Who were some of the worse performers of the week and going into the weekend? Bitcoin Gold -- the result of last November's major fork -- has fallen 40 percent since January. NEM also didn't fare well despite being up 40 percent from the Feb. 6 deficit. 

Even the rebound isn't enough to impress everyone. Earlier this week, Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman and Warren Buffett pal Charlie Munger said he's tired of bitcoin's "noxious poison."

In an interview with the Daily Journal, he called the bitcoin craze "totally asinine." When pressed for whether or not the government in the U.S. should implement a strategy similar to China's, Munger said  "Our government's more lax approach to it is wrong. The right answer to something like that is to step on it hard."

This article is not intended to give investment recommendations or advice for people, and it should not be taken as such. 

This article should not be taken as and is not intended to provide, investment advice. All readers should please conduct their own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency. This writer does not have an investment in any cryptocurrency.