The representation of the Bitcoin virtual currency is seen on a motherboard in this illustrated image of April 24, 2020.
Atès Ruvic | Reuters
Bitcoin surpassed the record high of $ 60,000 on Saturday morning, and continued its concentration as major companies and financial institutions adopt cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, was at $ 60,415.34 at 7:25 a.m. ET, according to Coinbase, which recovered from a fall in late February that followed an earlier record that month.
According to Coinbase, digital currency has risen 963% in the last twelve months. Its value topped $ 1 trillion last week for the second time this year.
The concentration of Bitcoin is motivated in part by increased adoption by larger companies and institutional investors and speculative demand. Tesla has acquired $ 1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and plans to accept digital currency as payment for its products, a decision that sparked more widespread interest.
Mastercard also said it will open its network to some digital currencies. And PayPal and BNY Mellon have made some moves in space.
Bitcoin believers argue that the current rally is based on the demand of institutional investors and is different from past rallies, such as when bitcoin soared to nearly $ 20,000 in late 2017 before losing approximately 80% of its value the following year.
Others argue that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value and worry that bitcoin may be one of the biggest stimulus-fueled market bubbles.