The bitcoin price is now up by approximately eight percent since the beginning of the week. At press time, the currency is trading for over $8,800, and $9,000 by Monday seems like a done deal granted bitcoin can keep up its current momentum.

“We believe that the ‘winter’ is ending for bitcoin,” say Fundstrat Global Advisors’ Tom Lee. “Headline risks seem to be fading quickly.”

Lee went on to discuss CoinsharesCrypto ETF, a trading platform situated in Europe. The organization serves as a leading indicator for bitcoin prices. Interestingly, Lee compared the system to Punxatawney Phil – the groundhog that “offers” winter and spring forecasts each February in America. If he sees his shadow, residents can expect another six weeks of winter. If his shadow remains unseen, that usually means spring has arrived.

“We believe large institutional investors globally use this ETF to quickly gain exposure to bitcoin,” he explained. “Hence, when shares rise, big money is buying bitcoin.”

Frank Cappelleri – executive director of institutional equities at Nomura Instinet – predicts that the currency is slated to go much higher, and will likely strike $9,173 in the coming days.

“Bitcoin now is testing a very important downtrend line,” he stated. “The same one that the cryptocurrency failed at in January and again in March on a log scale.”

In addition to BTC, ether is up by over seven percent, and is currently trading for approximately $586. Ripple’s XRP has incurred an 18 percent spike and is now trading at the $0.85 mark. Bitcoin cash sits at roughly $1,069, while Litecoin stands at $149.

In addition, over 60 percent of analysts – according to a poll conducted by Tom Lee – feel that bitcoin could break $12,000 by the time summer rolls along.

Another piece of good news? Bitcoin mining is once again looking profitable. A recent report detailed the ups-and-downs of the cryptocurrency mining business, and suggested that the business of extracting new bitcoin blocks will remain unprofitable granted the price of one bitcoin remains below $8,600.

Now standing beyond $8,800, bitcoin miners have a few rays of hope in their futures. It’s not a big number, and there is certainly a lot of room for improvement, but the signs are there that profit is once again rising from its slumber, and that mining is no longer trapped in a period of descent.

One potential reason for the spike may be the expansion of the Robin Hood app into Colorado territory. Furthermore, over 90 percent of the market is now composed of crypto buys, suggesting that bitcoin and its cousins are becoming far more mainstream and popular amongst the public.

Some, however, suggests a squeeze against a record short position on bitcoin as one of the main “culprits” behind the sudden jump, and further gains may be seen from an influx of major money players entering the crypto market.

“Large hedge funds have entered with deep pockets and strong hands,” says John Spallanzani, a portfolio manager at Miller Value Partners. “All positive signs.”

Like so many others, Spallanzani says considerably higher prices are contained within bitcoin’s future.