The leading virtual currency Bitcoin on Wednesday traded above $20,000 for the first time following a sustained run higher in recent weeks.
Just 12 years old, Bitcoin reached a record-high $20,398.50 before
pulling back to $20,145, which was still an intra-day gain of nearly four
percent.
It has seen a meteoric rise since March, when it stood at
$5,000, spurred by online payments giant PayPal saying it would enable account
holders to use cryptocurrency.
A number of central banks have meanwhile responded to the
rise of cryptocurrencies and the dwindling global use of cash by announcing
plans for bank-backed digital units.
Several central banks including those of China and Sweden -
but also the US Federal Reserve - are also testing digital applications in
response to Facebook's recent moves to produce its own digital unit, Libra.
Unregulated by any central bank, Bitcoin emerged as an
attractive option for investors with an appetite for the exotic – although
criminals have also seen its under-the-radar appeal.
Debate has meanwhile raged over the status of the digital
asset, launched in late 2008, as to whether it should be seen as a form of
money, an asset or a commodity.
After the unit surpassed $1,000 for the first time in 2013,
it increasingly began to attract the attention of financial institutions and
has experienced wild price swings.
.jpeg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment