The Bitcoin market has welcomed the outcome of the Brexit vote in the UK with open arms as the price of its currency soars following a falling trend in recent days.
The price of Bitcoin dipped to as low as $583 just before the June 23 Brexit voting day - a sharp drop from its two-and-a-half year high of nearly $775 on June 17. However, after votes were cast, with a win for the Brexit supporters, the digital currency gained in value to over $650 - a 24-hour recovery for a seven-day drop.
Chinese traders active
Bitcoin surged as much as 13 percent as the referendum decision fuelled demand for alternative assets - sink equities to emerging-market currencies. Some buyers would have preferred it as a digital asset without central bank control to offload the pound.
"We have seen almost $100 million traded in the past 24 hours, it's two or three times compared to a slow day," the CEO of one of the largest Chinese Bitcoin exchanges BTCC, Bobbly Lee, told CNBC.
Anticipated financial woes before Brexit
Citing a potential market turbulence, particularly a volatility in the exchange, peer-to-peer currency services like TransferWise paused working with the British Pound ahead of the Brexit vote.
“With the EU Referendum in the UK on Thursday 23rd June, exchange rates are likely to be volatile. We’ve been putting plans in place so that your transfers continue to be processed as smoothly as possible,” TransferWise told customers earlier this week. The London-headquartered money transfer startup is valued at $1.1 billion.
Money transfer app which also trades from the UK, Azimo, shared a similar message to its customers.
Temporarily suspended service
Please remember that no transfers can be made at present as we’re temporarily suspending our service from 6 a.m. (GMT) on Thursday June 23rd until currency markets have settled following the UK European Membership vote and we can safely trade again. We will inform you by email when our service is back up and running as normal. Or, please try again later to see if we are operating as normal.
Gold surges
Gold has surged 5.3pc to $1,325 - its highest level in two years while the yuan hit a five-and-a-half-year low to give the Bitcoin price a boost. All these are attributed to the referendum’s outcome which has reportedly made the UK poorer than France as the British pound has hit a 30-year low and FTSE 100 dropped 8.7%.
"Some market and economic volatility can be expected as this process unfolds," Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said. "But we are well prepared for this. The Treasury and the Bank of England have engaged in extensive contingency planning and the Chancellor and I have been in close contact, including through the night and this morning. The Bank will not hesitate to take additional measures as required as markets adjust and the UK economy moves forward."
For Bitcoin enthusiasts and others in the cryptocurrency community, this is a good time for the top digital currency, particularly ahead of its block reward halving in two weeks.