Bitcoin touched record above $29,000 for the first time, with the digital currency quadrupling in value year amid heightened interest from big and small investors.
The world’s popular cryptocurrency touched $29,300 before getting back, recently down 0.67% at $28,774.36. It has swelled for the first time on Dec. 16 by nearly half since breaking $20,000.
Bitcoin’s potential for quick gains and its expectations could make it a mainstream payment method. It has attracted demand from larger US investors and traders who typically rely upon equities.
“You can buy a stock like Amazon, you can buy a stock like Apple, and you know what you got,” said Dennis Dick, a proprietary trader working with Bright Trading LLC. “Bitcoin you just have digits on a screen, and you’re hoping that the guy behind you sees it as being worth more than what you just paid for it, so it’s a purely speculative view.”
Intrigued by the story behind bitcoin and traction it was getting with institutional investors, it has been put 1% of net worth into a bitcoin fund by five weeks ago, which has doubled in value since and sold half on 31 December 2020.
“When you double your money within five weeks, if you sell half of it, I figure now you’re playing with the house’s money,” he said.
Recent profits have taken bitcoin’s market capitalization past $536 billion, according to industry website CoinMarketCap.