You've got to read this: Bitcoin's journey to $10,000

• 2017 has been a breakthrough year for bitcoin.

• The digital currency is on the cusp of hitting $10,000 for the first time.

• The broader world of cryptocurrencies and ICOs has also had a very strong year.

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It has been a breakthrough year for the world’s original cryptocurrency. At time of publication, the bitcoin price is at $9,650 – about 10X higher than how the cryptocurrency started the year. Further, bitcoins are now on the brink of passing the important psychological barrier of $10,000, and it could do so at any moment based on current momentum.

Today’s infographic from Blockchain Intelligence Group helps to visualize the ups and downs of the cryptocurrency on its journey to $10,000.

Note:* once the price hits the $10,000 barrier, we’ll do a final update on this graphic to make sure that’s represented.*

Courtesy of: Visual Capitalist

The journey to $10,000 bitcoin:

And here is how long it took bitcoins to hit each $1,000 barrier:

Note:* These time periods are calculated based on closing prices for the Bitcoin Price Index on CoinDesk.*

The year of the ICO:
While the journey to $10,000 bitcoin is an incredible one, it is part of a wider story as well.

Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) for other cryptocurrencies have also boomed, and more than 92% of all funds raised through ICOs happened in this year alone. With this mechanism hitting the mainstream, about $3.8 billion have been raised through ICOs in total.

Further, they’ve been profitable as well for speculators. A report from Mangrove Capital last month noted that the average return across 204 ICOs it was tracking was 1,320%.

Despite being temporarily banned in China and South Korea, ICOs have not been slowing down. So far in this month (up to Nov 26, 2017), ICOs have already hit new highs with $743.2 million raised, surpassing the earlier record-holding month of September 2017 ($662.9 million).

source(images inclusive):
http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-price-journey-to-10000-2017-11?IR=T