Bitcoin hits record high before landmark Coinbase IPO

LONDON:

Bitcoin hit a record of $62,575 on Tuesday, extending its 2021 rally to new heights.

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency has more than doubled in price this year amid growing mainstream acceptance as an investment and a means of payment, and as investors seek high-yielding assets amid low-interest rates.

Major firms such as BNY Mellon, asset manager BlackRock Inc and credit card giant Mastercard Inc have backed cryptocurrencies. Tesla Inc, Square, and MicroStrategy Inc have invested in bitcoin.

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Earlier this month, the cryptocurrency market capitalization hit an all-time peak of $2 trillion, according to data and market trackers CoinGecko and Blockfolio, as gains over the last several months attracted demand from both institutional and retail investors.

The surge was led by bitcoin, which hit its own milestone by holding at a $1 trillion market cap for one week. Bitcoin was last up 1.4% at $59,045. Since hitting a lifetime peak of more than $61,000 in mid-March, bitcoin has traded in a relatively narrow range.

Crypto market cap surges to record $2 trillion, bitcoin at $1.1 trillion

Bitcoin has risen more than 100% this year, while ethereum has gained nearly 190%. Both have massively outperformed traditional asset classes, bolstered by the entry of mainstream companies and large investors into the cryptocurrency world, including Tesla Inc and BNY Mellon.