On December 1, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization surpassed the previous all-time high reached in 2017.

The weighted average bitcoin rate jumped to $19,816. This level overtops the previous all-time high bitcoin demonstrated in December 2017, after which the cryptocurrency market fell into a protracted recession. The bitcoin dominance index remains at 63%, and bitcoin capitalization reached $367 billion. The jump in the bitcoin price provoked feverous trading activity on crypto exchanges. On December 1, the daily trading volume exceeded $50 billion.

Bitcoin failed to gain a foothold at a new height, and within two hours the weighted average cryptocurrency rate dropped to $18,543, after which it made a new attempt to overcome the $19,000 mark, but failed to gain a foothold above this level for the second time. However, the cryptocurrency continues to trade at multi-month highs that bitcoin hasn't seen since 2017.

“The significance of a new all-time high in dollar terms can’t be understated,” said Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Delphi Digital and former equity analyst at Bloomberg, in a direct message with CoinDesk. “Many skeptics have publicly denounced bitcoin for failing to reach a new high despite such a favorable macro backdrop so this is yet another testament to bitcoin’s staying power.”

Since the beginning of 2020, bitcoin grew in price more than 240%. If we compare the current rate with the annual minimum at which bitcoin traded in mid-March, then the cryptocurrency rose in price by more than 400%.

“The narrative of bitcoin as a safe alternative to traditional finances is being established without a doubt,” Vijay Ayyar, Head of Asia Pacific & Luno Exchange at Luno told news.Bitcoin.com. “Gold is starting to become less relevant especially for the younger population and investors and this shift from Gold to bitcoin has just begun.”

Institutional and retail investors continue to strengthen their presence in the crypto market. Thus, Square reported record $1 billion in bitcoin revenue through its CashApp mobile wallet in Q3. The PayPal payment system announced plans to introduce support for bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.

Interest in bitcoins from large investors is confirmed by data from the futures market. The price of BTC futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) reached $20,350 on December 1, but after that it lost about $1,000 in value in 10 minutes.