Shafaq News / Bitcoin soared above $50,000 on Tuesday to an all-time high, adding steam to a rally fueled by signs that the world’s biggest cryptocurrency is gaining acceptance among mainstream investors and companies.
Bitcoin hit a record $50,602, and was last up 2.7% at $49,100. It has risen around 70% so far this year, with most of the gains coming after electric carmaker Tesla said it had bought $1.5 billion in bitcoin.
The move by Tesla, which also said it would accept bitcoin as payment, was the latest in a string of large investments that have vaulted bitcoin from the fringes of finance to company balance sheets and Wall Street, with U.S. firms and traditional money managers starting to buy the coin.
Such mainstream moves, some investors said, could help bitcoin become a widespread means of payment - something it has so far failed to achieve at any large scale - and in turn further bolster prices.
The rush in 2021 by retail and institutional investors comes on top of a 300% rise last year as investors searched for high-yielding assets and alternatives the dollar amid rock-bottom or even negative interest rates across the globe.
