Bitcoin Prices Rise But Fall Short of All-Time High

The price of bitcoin closed in on its all-time high of $4,522.13 today, though it ultimately fell short of surpassing the total, first set on August 18.

At press time, the price of bitcoin had hit a high of $4,496, just 1% above opening, only to to fall back to $4,386, a move that marked the next leg in a volatile week for the cryptocurrency. Just this morning, the price surged above the $4,400 mark again after dropping below $3,000 several times over the last seven days.

Over the past week, however, the price of bitcoin is up 7%, according to data from the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI), and it's now up 68% month-over-month.

The steady uptick has come at a time when the rising prices of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has pushed the collective market capitalization for those networks to new heights as well.

Two days ago, the overall market cap climbed above $150 billion for the first time, according to data provider CoinMarketCap, and today the market was hovering near all-time highs.

At publication, the total value of all cryptocurrencies was $153 billion.