Bitcoin returned above $50,000 this week for the first time since early September, following a market-wide resurgence.

The cryptocurrency reached above $55,000 on Wednesday and has remained around this level ever since. The latest price gains coming after bitcoin briefly fell below $30,000 at the end of July, with bitcoin now less than $10,000 away from the all-time price high it experienced in mid April.

Other leading cryptocurrencies have mirrored bitcoin’s fortunes in recent weeks, with Ethereum (ether), Binance Coin and dogecoin all rising by between 15-30 per cent since this time last week.

The overall crypto market is now valued at nearly $2.2 trillion – up more than 15 per cent since the start of October.

After a poor September, some analysts are predicting a strong end to 2021. One price prediction model, which proved remarkably accurate in August and September, puts bitcoin on track to hit six figures before Christmas, though there are some caveats.

We’ll have all the latest news, analysis and expert price predictions right here.