Bitcoin’s slow bull run continued Thursday as the cryptocurrency broke though $10,000 in trading Thursday, its highest point since Jan. 31 and a reversal of a decline that saw it bottom out at $6,363.97 on Feb. 5.

Why bitcoin is continuing to grow in value is once again is disputed by analysts, but it appears to be the result of returning market confidence as news relating to cryptocurrencies has shifted into positive territory. One story earlier in the week had the South Korean government, which has famously flip-flopped on crypto regulations for months, now considering introducing New York State-style licensing for cryptocurrency exchanges.

The positive-news theory was backed up analyst Brian Kelly, who told CNBC that “for most of December and all of January investors were focused on a regulatory crackdown, mostly in Asia … That all changed when CFTC Commissioner Giancarlo spoke at the Senate Banking Committee and changed the regulatory tone. It appears the negative regulatory news is behind us and investors feel more confident investing.”

The good news now has spurred a fear of missing out once again. “FOMO is back in the markets,” Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at eToro, said in an interview. “Crypto investors have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for a rally. Yesterday it was litecoin, which had a clean break out from its resistance levels, and investors jumped on and are still riding it today.”

He noted that that there has been a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt over the past few weeks. “The FUD is fading now,” he said.

Another, more colorful theory, is that the initial bitcoin slump followed by the price increase is thanks to lunar cycles, specifically the Chinese New Year. “Tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year and some families are replacing their red envelopes of cash for bitcoin gifts,” the London Block Exchange claimed. “In each of the past three years, the crypto markets have experienced corrections three weeks before this important day.”

Whatever the reasons, cryptocurrency investors will certainly be enjoying Chinese New Year, with all major cryptocurrencies seeing healthy growth. Bitcoin was trading at $10,068.44 as of 11:20 p.m. EST, while Ethereum was trading at $936.21 and Ripple XRP at $1.13. The announcement of a new Paypal-like service along with a forthcoming fork made Litecoin the standout performer, trading at $214.83, up from $160.09 yesterday.

Disclosure: The author is currently #HODL on a small amount of Ripple XRP. 

Photo: Geograph