Bitcoin climbs above $16,000 to its highest level since January 2018 as crypto rally pushes forward

• Bitcoin soared above $16,000 early Thursday morning, breaking above the support level for the first time since January 2018.
• The world's largest cryptocurrency has rallied in recent weeks on a wave of market volatility and growing adoption.
• The latest uptrend kicked off in October after PayPal announced it would allow users to buy, sell, and hold bitcoin. It's broken several key psychological levels since.
• Watch bitcoin trade live here.

Bitcoin surged above $16,000 for the first time since January 2018 on Thursday as the token continued its climb to new heights.

The world's largest and most popular cryptocurrency leaped as much as 3% from its 24-hour open to an intraday high of $16,157 early Thursday morning. It quickly erased most of the gains and traded just below the support level at around 8 a.m. ET.

The rally follows similarly rapid leaps for the coin throughout the month. Bitcoin traded below $14,000 at the end of October but has since broken through several psychological levels amid US election volatility. While the rally brings bitcoin back to levels not seen since its famous 2017 boom, it's still a ways away from its all-time high of $19,665.39.

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The reasoning for the cryptocurrency's latest leg up is unclear, but its rally first gained steam in October after PayPal announced it would soon allow users to buy, sell, and hold bitcoin. The news pushed bitcoin as much as 8% higher to just below $13,000. Billionaire Mike Novogratz praised PayPal's decision, deeming it "the biggest news of the year in crypto."

"All banks will now be on a race to service crypto," he tweeted on October 21. "We have crossed the rubicon people."

Technical analyst Katie Stockton said soon after that $14,000 represented the next key resistance level for the token. Once cleared, bitcoin could soar above $20,000 without much obstruction, she added in an October note.

Bitcoin broke above that $14,000 on November 4 amid a wave of election-fueled market volatility. It rallied above $15,000 the next day. After a brief tumble last week, the token has resumed its upward trend.

Bitcoin traded at $15,899.56 as of 8:15 a.m. ET Thursday, up 120% year-to-date.

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