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(Reuters) – Digital currency Bitcoin extended its record rally on Saturday, kicking off the year with a surge of more than $ 30,000 for the first time, with more and more traders and investors betting that it is on its way to becoming a payment method. conventional.
The price of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency traded as high as $ 31,824 early Saturday, with almost all other markets closed during the first weekend of 2021. Lastly, it rose around 8% to $ 31,743.
Bitcoin advanced more than 300% in 2020, and with the last higher leg it has added more than 50% since it crossed $ 20,000 just two weeks ago.
The blockchain currency has only been around for a decade or so, and 2020 has seen demand grow from larger American investors, attracted by its perceived inflation-hedging qualities and potential for quick profits, as well as expectations that it becomes a conventional payment. method.
Investors said the limited supply of bitcoins, produced by so-called “mining” computers that validate blocks of transactions competing to solve math puzzles, has helped fuel upward moves in recent days.
Some also saw it as a safe haven during the COVID-19 pandemic, similar to gold.
It is listed on numerous exchanges, the largest of which is Coinbase, which is preparing to go public and become the first platform of its kind to be listed on Wall Street.
Multiple competing cryptocurrencies using similar blockchain or electronic ledger technology. Ethereum, the second largest, gained 465% in 2020 and was up 5.3% on Saturday.
(Reporting by Alden Bentley; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Diane Craft)
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