Bitcoin rose above $50,000 on Tuesday to a new record high, building on rally fuelled by signs that the world`s biggest cryptocurrency is gaining acceptance amongst mainstream investors.
Bitcoin rose above $50,000 on Tuesday to a new record high, building on rally fuelled by signs that the world`s biggest cryptocurrency is gaining acceptance amongst mainstream investors.
Bitcoin hit a new high of $50,000, and was last up 3.9% at $49,891. It has risen around 72% so far this year.
Bitcoin hit a new record high $60 shy of $50,000 on Tuesday, extending a sharp rally that has been mostly fuelled by big investors beginning to take digital assets seriously.
Bitcoin hit a new record high $60 shy of $50,000 on Tuesday, extending a sharp rally that has been mostly fuelled by big investors beginning to take digital assets seriously.
The first and most famous cryptocurrency, bitcoin hit $49,938 and has gained roughly 70% this year, most of that after electric carmaker Tesla said it bought $1.5 billion in bitcoin and would accept the currency as payment.
Tesla`s move was the latest in a string of large investments that have vaulted bitcoin from the fringes of finance to company balance sheets and Wall Street dealing desks, as U.S. firms and traditional money managers have started to buy a lot of it.
The soaring cryptocurrency, which was near worthless a decade ago when software developer Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 bitcoins for two pizzas, surpassed $20,000 only in mid-December, but has so far struggled to crack $50,000 after a few attempts.
“Bitcoin has been range bound for the past four or five days, suggesting either stalling momentum or a consolidation period,” said Justin d`Anethan, sales manager at digital asset company Diginex in Hong Kong.
“We believe in the latter,” he said, since strong recent demand has been drawing down bitcoin`s finite supply.
Bitcoin last traded just short of its new record at $49,045 while rival cryptocurrency ethereum also held near its own record top of $1,879 made last week.
Besides Tesla, bitcoin has drawn unprecedented flows from big and small investors in recent months and posted new milestones on the path to greater takeup as a mode of exchange.
