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Digital currency Bitcoin extended its record-breaking rally on Saturday, kicking off the year at more than $ 30,000 for the first time, with more and more traders and investors betting it is on track to become a mainstream payment method.
The price of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency traded as high as $ 33,099 on Saturday, while nearly all other markets closed during the first weekend of 2021. The latest increase was about 12% to $ 32,883.
Bitcoin advanced more than 300% in 2020, and with the last leg up, it has added more than 50% since it crossed $ 20,000 two weeks ago.
The blockchain currency has only been around for a decade or so, and 2020 saw demand from larger US investors increasing, attracted by its alleged inflation hedging properties and the potential for quick profits, as well as the expectation that it would become a regular payment. method.
Investors said bitcoin’s limited supply – produced by so-called “mining” computers that validate transaction blocks by competing to solve math puzzles – has contributed to its upward movement in recent days.
Some also saw it as a safe haven during the Covid-19 pandemic, similar to gold.
“It is very likely that the asset will eventually pass $ 100,000 per coin,” Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, a global blockchain project, wrote in an email Saturday. “People have been steadily losing faith in their government currency for years, and monetary policy due to the economic impact of the coronavirus has only accelerated this decline.”
It trades on numerous exchanges, the largest of which is Coinbase, which is preparing to go public and become the first such platform on Wall Street.
Multiple competitor cryptocurrencies use similar blockchain or electronic ledger technology. Ethereum, the second largest, gained 465% in 2020 and rose nearly 7% on Saturday.