Bitcoin price soars past $ 33,000, its highest on record

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Bitcoin (XBT) tripled in value in 2020 and grew steadily even as the stock market plummeted in the early days of the pandemic. Investors have drawn to it, as have other cryptocurrencies, as the US dollar has weakened.
With the Federal Reserve expected to keep interest rates at zero for several more years, bitcoin may continue to gain new fans.
Familiar names add to bitcoin’s appeal. Rick Rieder, the chief investment officer of fixed income Black rock (BLK), said the digital currency could replace gold. Payment giant PayPal (PYPL) has embraced bitcoin after showing reluctance here.
This isn’t the first bitcoin price spike. It had a strong streak in 2017, hitting an all-time high of over $ 20,000. But the price plummeted to just over $ 3,000 in early 2019, as China continued to crack down on cryptocurrency companies. It then bounced back to $ 8,000 in May 2019. It shot past $ 20,000 in December and rose rapidly in the past month.

Bitcoin experts remain optimistic about the currency.

“When an asset rises in price so quickly over an extended period of time, I become cautious, and I would urge anyone trading BTC not to get caught up in the euphoria,” said Nicholas Pelecanos, head of trading at cryptocurrency firm NEM. which nonetheless predicts that bitcoin could rise to $ 50,000 by Valentine’s Day. “I think we are just at the beginning of what will be an immense bull market.”

But even as bitcoin is becoming mainstream, the currency is still often used by fraudsters, drawing it negative attention. Last July, hackers took over Twitter accounts from Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Barack Obama in an apparent effort to earn income by scamming people with bitcoin.

Due to the decentralized and anonymous nature of the currency, it can be difficult to get money back after it is lost to a scam as there is no central authority – such as a bank – to intervene. Decentralization and anonymity have made cryptocurrency a favorite for scammers, even though it appeals to technologists and investors alike.

CNN’s Paul R. La Monica contributed to this report.

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