The world’s best-known cryptocurrency was traded with a new record high above $ 40,000 on Thursday afternoon, representing a doubling of the asset in less than a month as it makes an almost daily attack on new peaks.
A single BTCUSD bitcoin,
on CoinDesk traded to a peak of $ 40,402, before dropping to around $ 38,632 on the last check. Bitcoin reached $ 20,000 for the first time in mid-December, at the time the largest trade on record.
Bitcoin already rose 32% in January, after posting a return in 2020 of around 300%. Gains for bitcoin and other alternative currencies, or virtual currency alternatives for bitcoin, have so far exceeded traditional stocks and bonds, even with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
the S&P 500 SPX index,
and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP,
trading on or near the records on Thursday.
Digital asset fanatics say the rally for bitcoin and its peers differs this time from the fervor of 2017 and could signal a much more sustained escalation for cryptocurrencies.
The recent recovery was supported by increased interest in bitcoin from institutional investors and central bankers expressing a desire to create their own digital currencies.
Some market participants say that bitcoin may be attracting some demand for gold, considered the traditional safe haven asset, with a 5,000-year reputation as a currency and store of value.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists have speculated that a bitcoin may soon be worth $ 146,000 if it starts taking more money from traditional gold buyers, which researchers think may already be happening.
Bitcoin investors were attracted by the narrative that it could act as a wealth reserve amid the unbridled impression of central bank money in 2020 to boost the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition, PayPal PYPL,
recently allowed users on its platform to buy bitcoin, as well as other sister cryptographers like Ether ETHUSD from Ethereum
coins, Bitcoin Cash BCHUSD,
and Litecoin LTCUSD,
Square’s SQ,
The popular Cash App also allows users to buy and sell bitcoins.