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PARIS (AFP) – Bitcoin, the leading virtual currency, saw its price surpass US $ 30,000 on Saturday (January 2) for the first time, only in its latest record.
The first decentralized cryptocurrency surpassed $ 30,823.30 at 1313 GMT, according to data compiled by the Bloomberg news agency, having broken $ 20,000 on December 16.
Analyst Timo Emden noted that “the appetite for risk”, which is reflected in the purchase of bitcoins, “remains unshakable.”
“More all-time highs could follow,” the Germany-based analyst added.
Just 12 years old, bitcoin has seen a meteoric rise since March, when it stood at $ 5,000, driven by online payments giant PayPal, which said it would allow account holders to use cryptocurrencies.
After PayPal’s announcement in October, analysts at investment banking giant JPMorgan Chase compared the cryptocurrency to gold.
“Bitcoin could compete more intensely with gold as an ‘alternative’ currency in the next few years, as millennials will eventually become a more important component of the investor universe,” they said.
Meanwhile, several central banks have responded to the rise of cryptocurrencies and the dwindling global use of cash by announcing plans for bank-backed digital units.
Several central banks, including those of China and Sweden, but also the US Federal Reserve, are also testing digital applications in response to recent moves by Facebook to produce its own digital unit, Libra.
Unregulated by any central bank, bitcoin emerged as an attractive option for investors with an appetite for the exotic, although criminals have also realized its hidden appeal.
Meanwhile, the state of the digital asset, launched in late 2008, has been debated over whether it should be viewed as a form of money, an asset, or a commodity.
After the unit surpassed $ 1,000 for the first time in 2013, it began to attract more and more attention from financial institutions and has experienced sudden price swings.
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