Bitcoin’s transaction volume in 2017 exploded to $260 mln per day - or $180,000 per minute, according to the latest statistics.
The figures, which are currently circulating through the community on social media, show sustained solid growth in use year on year.
In 2016, widely considered to be a breakout year for Bitcoin, volumes grew by 118 percent during the previous 12-month period.
At the same time, citing Chain product architect Oleg Andreev, cryptocurrency investor Trace Mayer noted that Bitcoin moves the equivalent of 45 tons of physical gold every day but with a fee rate of less than 0.01 percent.
Mayer’s comments, however, received mixed reactions, as Andreev himself described the statistics as “trolling a bit.”
Nonetheless, Bitcoin’s upward trajectory is giving optimism to investors. While many expect the next watershed moment to be the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ verdict on the first Bitcoin ETF, cryptocurrency commentators are at odds with analysts over the likely outcome.
Meanwhile, an Emerita Capital analyst most recently stated that a positive decision would send the Bitcoin price surging by around 65 percent of its current value.