Bitcoin set to match longest winning streak of 2018

Bitcoin is on course to match its longest winning streak of the past twelve months, gaining 10 per cent since last Wednesday.

The cryptocurrency has had six consecutive days of gains – a rarity that it saw in July last year, a bright patch in a year when its value crashed by three-quarters.

Prices are yet to recover, with Bitcoin fluctuating between $3,000 and $4,000 this year.

Traders and analysts cited the uptake of cryptocurrencies by mainstream finance and consumers, including JP Morgan's introduction of a digital coin for payments on its private blockchain, as giving momentum to the rally.

Bitcoin was trading around $3,928 in early afternoon, up 0.3 per cent on the day. Ethereum and Ripple’s XRP, two rival cryptocurrencies, have gained 21 per cent and 9.5 per cent respectively in the same period.

Price moves between cryptocurrencies are highly correlated. A spike in the price of Ethereum on Sunday preceded a seven per cent gain for bitcoin on Monday.

Mati Greenspan, an analyst with eToro in Israel, said a shortage in the creation of Ethereum added momentum to the rally in bitcoin.

"You have to think of the crypto trader at their desk – they see moves across the board and then buy up their favourite coins," Greenspan said. "By now it's already just full-blown optimism."

So-called alt coins have also made strong gains in the last week, with EOS and Litecoin gaining 35 percent and 21 percent respectively since Wednesday.

Moves in these coins preceded buying of bitcoin, said Josh Bramley, head trader at crypto wealth management firm Blockstars.

Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie, CEO of prime brokerage BCB Group, said specialist cryptocurrency hedge funds based in London and the Cayman Islands had made orders in recent days.

Non-cryptocurrency funds worth around $100-200m have this month registered interest with BCB Group but have not yet placed any orders, he said.

The entry of mainstream investors into cryptocurrencies and the clearer regulation of the industry – both widely cited as probable catalysts for price moves – have not happened on any meaningful scale.