Does anyone have an explanation for why the price is going up so high so fast? Is there something legitimately pushing the price up or is it pure speculation?
This is what happens with global phenomena. The soil (global internet) is already there, anything that will grow in that soil (like bitcoin) can spread VERY quickly like a wildfire.
What happens when India discovers it is perfect for remittances? What happens when Africa discovers they can exchange payments with just a mobile phone without even having a bank or credit card or any credit period? What happens when parents the world over realize this is a perfect way to give their kids money to buy stuff online with? Or for online retailers to be able to sell to the unbanked and to those who don't have good credit or a credit card? Anywhere in the world, to anyone with BTC? What happens when new uses for Bitcoin that haven't even been thought of yet, are?
Trivia: The head of the Chinese exchange is a Stanford graduate and his brother invented Litecoin.
Some people have super fat stacks though (10s or 100s of millions of dollars worth) they are trying to use the money by spending it because they are trying to build up the bitcoin merchant community.
But now, with mining being 50+ times harder only serious miners with their multi-TH rigs are earning any significant amount of coins and they are likely holding to them.