Active user participation in Bitcoin's network has accelerated to levels last seen in December 2017, when the cryptocurrency printed record highs near $20,0000.

The number of active entities, or clusters of addresses controlled by a single network participant, jumped to 388,697 on Thursday, the highest since Dec. 9, 2017, according to data source Glassnode.
The metric has more than doubled in the past five days alongside bitcoin's rally from $11,350 to $13,300.
"It shows active participation in bitcoin is growing," a spokesperson for FCA-regulated crypto index provider CF Benchmarks told CoinDesk.
"Against the backdrop of PayPal’s announcement this week, it makes a lot of sense that interest in bitcoin is once again intensifying to heights not seen since late 2017," the spokesperson added.
Online payments giant PayPal announced support for bitcoin, ether, litecoin and bitcoin cash earlier this week, propelling bitcoin and wider crypto market higher.

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The cryptocurrency's price lags on-chain metrics such as active entities and hash rate.
While the count of active entities is closing on the record high of 411,127 reached on Dec. 9, 2017, the cryptocurrency's price is still down 53% from the lifetime high of $20,000.
Meanwhile, the seven-day rolling average of bitcoin's hashrate, or the measure of the mining power dedicated to the blockchain, rose to a record high of 146 exahashes per second earlier this month.
Continued rise in network's usage could accelerate the price rally.
"When there’s greater usage, there’s more demand for the cryptocurrency, and that drives the price up,” Philip Gradwell, chief economist at the blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis, told CoinDesk.

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