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It has gained more than 170 percent this year, driven by demand from large investors drawn by its quick profit potential, its alleged resistance to inflation and expectations that it will become a mainstream payment method.
Bitcoin topped $ 20,000 for the first time on Wednesday (December 16), its highest level to date. The unit, which cost around $ 5,000 in March, has risen higher since online payments giant PayPal said it would allow account holders to use cryptocurrencies. The cryptocurrency jumped 4.5 percent to hit $ 20,440. It has gained more than 170 percent this year, driven by demand from large investors drawn by its quick profit potential, its alleged resistance to inflation and expectations that it will become a mainstream payment method.
The smallest coins, ethereum and XRP, which often trade in tandem with bitcoin, gained 5.4 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively.
Bitcoin’s skyrocketing rally has seen a massive flow of coins into North America from East Asia, fueled by hunger for bitcoin among larger, compliance-wary US investors.
Bitcoin’s rally, which some investors have seen as a potential safe haven, has coincided with the drop in spot gold in recent months.
Some investors, such as hedge funds and family offices, have been deterred in the past by the opaque nature of the crypto market. Tighter oversight of the US crypto industry has helped allay some of those concerns.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency invented in 2008 by an unknown person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto and started in 2009 when its implementation as open source software was released.
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