Bitcoin blasts through $13K following PayPal’s entrance into crypto

Bitcoin (BTC) has rallied above $13,000 for the first time since July, and only the third time since the all-time high bull run of late-2017.

The move follows the long-sustained period of five-figure price action, with BTC having spent nearly the entirety of the past 12 weeks trading above $10,000.

The spike was triggered by news that the global payments giant PayPal is launching support for Bitcoin, in addition to Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

Quantum Economics founder Mati Greenspan said the rally was almost entirely driven by PayPal.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that this bit of news is almost solely responsible for today’s extended gains.”

BTC is up 10% over the past 24 hours, while ETH is up 8%,  BCH is up 9% and LTC is up more than 15% today.

While Ether has rallied alongside Bitcoin, ETH has failed to maintain its strength relative to Bitcoin since rallying into the low-mid $400s amid the decentralized finance boom in August. Ether is currently testing resistance at $400.

In response to the news from PayPal, Alex Mashinsky, CEO of crypto lending platform Celsius, said:

“This is definitely a bullish sign for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Crypto is all about trust, and PayPal has a very high level of trust with its users […] If the UI/UX of the service is done right, we will see millions of new users join each month.”