Bitcoin Breakout: Price Jumps $1K in 60 Minutes

Bitcoin rallied over $1,000 in an hour this morning, having spent a better part of the last two weeks trading sideways in a narrow price range.

The cryptocurrency clocked a two-week high of $8,055 soon before press time and is currently trading at $7,850, according to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index.

The move marks a 13 percent gain from the previous day's close of $6,939.

It appears short liquidation or unwinding of short BTC trades has played a big role in the sudden rally, according to some sources.

The cryptocurrency picked up bids at $6,766 at 07:00 GMT and scaled the $7,000 mark at 11:00 GMT - a move that seems to have triggered stop losses on short trades, as reported by WhaleCalls.

Further, technical buyers may have jumped in as the move above $7,000 also marked an upside break of the falling wedge pattern.

It's worth noting that, while it took two hours to move from $6,766 to $7,000, the next $1,000 jump happened in just 45 minutes.

For now, it appears bitcoin's period of consolidation has ended with a notable bullish breakout.

Next, a move to $8,500 cannot be ruled out if the cryptocurrency closes above $7,510, confirming a bullish double bottom breakout.

CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.