Bitcoin 's traded price has edged higher again, challenging 3-week highs of $244 set late last week on BTC-e. After falling back to $232 earlier in the weekend, prices again pushed higher, challenging the recent highs but thus far failing to crack them. Bitcoin is currently trading at $242 on BTC-e.
The mini-milestones are in addition to a brief round of wild trade last week on the Exchange , which saw prices gyrate by roughly 23% within a few minutes. It will be interesting to consider, however, if the bizarre action turns out to be a turning point sending prices to new highs over the coming weeks.
The positive moves have sent bitcoin slightly above its 50-day moving average (MA), officially completing the comeback after trailing the mark for almost all of April. At its low, bitcoin was more than 15% off.
The re-convergence is part of a larger trend that has seen bitcoin's trading band tighten for the last three months. Prices haven't really chosen a definitive direction during the stretch, typically hovering within less than 10% of the $240 mark, the current MA. Threats to move below $210 or above $300 have been short-lived and turned away by strong countermoves. The duration of the current streak of relative stability is longer than any such stretch in 2014.
Prices on BTC-e are again uncharacteristically higher than those on its peers, adding a premium of roughly $2.50 (1%).
