Bitcoin surges to yearly high on PayPal news

Bitcoin is trading at a 16-month high on the back of news that PayPal will incorporate cryptocurrency services within its platform over the coming weeks.

PayPal’s decision to add functionality for digital assets gives cryptocurrency exposure to its 346 million active users.

According to Reuters, PayPal also has plans to let users spend cryptocurrencies across its 26 million merchants from early 2021.

Bitcoin reacted as expected to the news as it broke above the $12,500 level of resistance following a rejection on August 17.

If it can close today’s daily candle above the $12,800 mark it could well signal a new bullish phase in the market, with the $20,000 all-time high being closer than its been for a significant period of time.

BTCUSD chart by TradingView

The PayPal news follows institutional investment from the likes of Square and Microstrategy, with the two tech companies investing $475 million and $50 million into Bitcoin over the past few months.

While Bitcoin has rallied on the news, altcoins have started to suffer, with Ethereum falling by 6.88% against Bitcoin since the turn of the week.

Potential upside targets for Bitcoin are beginning to emerge at both $13,150 and $13,800, although it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the world’s largest cryptocurrency begin to test 2017 levels as the news continues to be priced in.

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