Some Are Calling All-Time Highs for Bitcoin. Here's Why CoinDesk Hasn't Yet

In a fragmented global market, price quotes are all over the place. That's why CoinDesk created the Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) and is standing by it.

AccessTimeIconNov 25, 2020 at 7:41 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 10:35 a.m. UTC
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In a fragmented global market, price quotes are all over the place. That's why CoinDesk created the Bitcoin Price Index (BPI). The current debate over what exactly is the all-time-high price of the leading cryptocurrency shows how a sector that is all about decentralization has difficulty coming up with a common pricing system on which everyone can agree.

Depending on whom one asks, the price of bitcoin at any given time can be quoted within a range of hundreds of dollars. For that reason, some outlets are claiming bitcoin has already eclipsed its all-time high set three years ago, while others, including CoinDesk, are saying we're still a ways from the mark. That’s because much like the foreign exchange market, the cryptocurrency market isn’t centralized the way, say, the New York Stock Exchange is.

While individual crypto exchanges are called “centralized,” they are to the extent that trades take place within their platforms. In fact, they are trading the same digital assets found on other exchanges.

One could send bitcoin bought on one exchange to another and then sell it on that second exchange. That opens up arbitrage potential that helps keep prices relatively close together, though with sizable discrepancies. Slippage, differences in liquidity and other costs help explain why prices may be so different across the board.

A portion of CryptoCompare's Bitcoin Arbitrage Table.
A portion of CryptoCompare's Bitcoin Arbitrage Table.

Likewise, the historic all-time high for bitcoin is also different, depending on the source. CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index uses a weighted average of prices to get a reasonable sense of where bitcoin is or was trading at any particular moment. The average is taken from 10 leading cryptocurrency exchanges including Bitflyer, Bitstamp, Coinbase and Kraken. Were one to get a quote on bitcoin from a major exchange at any time of day, it may not be exactly at the BPI’s number but it is quite likely to be very close. Nonetheless, volatile markets can produce the occasional outliers.

BTC-USD Daily Highs on Bitstamp, Coinbase, and Kraken (Dec. 1 - Dec. 31, 2017)
BTC-USD Daily Highs on Bitstamp, Coinbase, and Kraken (Dec. 1 - Dec. 31, 2017)

For decades, if not centuries, good old-fashioned fiat currencies have been mostly traded over the counter, first in physical marketplaces, then using telephones and computer terminals. As in crypto, the exact price of a floating-rate fiat currency is a function of supply and demand. Thus when futures exchanges use a reference rate to use for their forex contracts, they first decide on what sources will be used, then plug them into a formula of some kind. In many respects, one can think of CoinDesk's BPI as a sort of reference rate for the price of bitcoin.

And for the record, CoinDesk views the all-time high of bitcoin as $19,783. We'll let you know if and when it gets there.

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CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


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