Crypto Today: Bitcoin takes a breather above $15K, up more than 20% on the day

The BTC/USD pair jumped to a new all-time high on Thursday at $16900 according to the latest available data presented on coinmarketcap.com as unstoppable rally continued. The pair gained more than $5000 in the last two days and rose nearly 22% in the last 24 hours with the total market capitalization also reaching a record peak of $283 billion. As of writing, the pair was trading sideways near $15500. 

Today's upsurge created significant price divergences between the major cryptocurrency exchanges over the world. "In some cases, the differences amount to more than $2,000 in value, particularly among some of the most voluminous exchanges. South Korea's most voluminous exchange, and local exchanges Coinone and Korbit, all of which are seeing prices above $19,000 (denominated in the won, the country's national currency)," coindesk.com's Stan Higgins wrote in a recent article. 

On the other hand, with the trading volume shifting to bitcoin, rival digital currencies struggled to find demand. In fact, bitcoin cash is looking to close the day nearly 6% lower near $1260 while ether is up only 1.75%.In the meantime, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies rose to $423 billion on the day.

Despite bitcoin's jaw-dropping upswing, skeptical comments continue to cross the wires. Bill Gross, the respected bond manager at Janus Henderson Group Plc., was the latest person to suggest that bitcoin couldn't become an alternative to currencies. "Supply of bitcoin may drive up its value for now, but also makes it an unlikely substitute for currencies or gold in times of economic distress," Gross told Bloomberg.