Bitcoin price news: What is the price of bitcoin today? Why is BTC rising?

BITCOIN prices are back on the up today after recovering from a weekend slump that saw the currency fall below $7,300. The market has seen a small boost after China reevaluated their stance on blockchain. But what is the price of bitcoin today?Bitcoin has seen a jump in prices this morning amid a significant change in opinion from eastern countries that could alter the future course of the cryptocurrency.

Prices leapt by more than 5.6 percent today, in a positive turn for the digital token.

At the time of writing, BTC is currently trading at $7,540.02.

The rest of the cryptocurrency market has seen a significant boost across the board today with Ethereum jumping nearly 10 percent to trade at $572.80.

Ripple rose 11.23 percent to trade at $0.620540 and Litecoin increased to sell for $121.24The bump in price comes as China’s president Xi Jinping endorsed the potential that blockchain technology has to global economies.

President Xi Jinping spoke to an annual academic conference in the Chinese Academy of Sciences this week to discuss the potential of blockchain technology.

During the speech, the president noted blockchain is crucial to the development of nations in the 21st century and he hopes China will take advantage of the technology.

President Jinping said: “Ever since the start of the 21st century, a new generation of industrial revolution is substantially reshaping the global economic structure with artificial intelligence, internet of things and blockchain constantly making application breakthroughs."

The Chinese president went on to say he will open national laboratories to research and develop blockchain infrastructure to better prepare the nation for the future.

China has previously celebrated the advances in blockchain technology, developing more comprehensive systems to ensure the country will be at the forefront of global economic reform.

In 2016, the State Council introduced the concept of blockchain as part of an information technology reformation strategy as part of the country's 13th five-year economic development plan running up to 2020.

The nation houses the largest community of bitcoin miners, but has regularly looked to interrupt the development of a crypto-market, banning initial coin offerings (ICOs) and squeezing crypto-exchanges to stop trading coins. China has the strictest regulation and control over cryptocurrencies but the recent endorsement from the President highlights a shift in opinion.

President Xi did not announce how he envisioned blockchain would be used in the Chinese economy of the future, but it appears the government has seen the uses in Blockchain tech.

The comment came just a few days after the Chinese government’s central administrative branch mentioned blockchain in a top level missive.

Should China begin to adopt blockchain technology into their economic infrastructure, the boost to bitcoin sales in the east may push BTC to a new high.

Earlier this year, Fundstrat CEO Tom Lee claimed that bitcoin would soar past $25,000 by the end of 2018 and, should this new-found confidence in blockchain continue for China, it is easy to see this goal being achieved.