(Reuters) – Bitcoin digital currency expanded its record-breaking rally on Saturday, starting the year up over $ 30,000 for the first time, with more and more traders and investors betting that it is heading for a mainstream payment method to become.
The price of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency traded to $ 31,824 early Saturday, closing almost all other markets during the first weekend of 2021. The latest increase was about 8% to $ 31,743.
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 mathematical puzzles – has helped fuel upward movements in recent days.
Some also saw it as a safe haven during the COVID-19 pandemic, similar to gold.
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 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; Edited by Daniel Wallis and Diane Craft