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The price of bitcoin crossed another important milestone on Friday as the market value of the cryptocurrency exceeded $ 1 trillion, according to Coindesk.
The digital currency traded just under $ 54,000 per coin on Friday as it reached the new level and rose to a high of $ 54,880 later in the session, according to Coin Metrics. The price of bitcoin has now risen by about 350% over the past six months. Prior to the recent boom, the digital asset never traded above $ 20,000.
The move was fueled in part by the growing acceptance of the cryptocurrency by large investors and companies. The oldest bank in the United States, the Bank of New York Mellon, announced earlier this month that it was moving into space. Elon Musk’s Tesla earlier this year converted part of its balance sheet cash into bitcoin and said it would accept the digital tokens as payment.
Bitcoin ‘has started to grow so large that it is likely to create its own demand as companies and institutions start looting in a field they would not have touched on a few months earlier’, Deutsche Bank’s research strategist Jim Reid said in a statement. note said. “Ironically, it turns itself into a credible asset class for many people by adding so much and also increasing institutional purchasing.”
Market value is calculated by multiplying the price of bitcoin by the number created. While not a perfect comparison, the value of $ 1 billion market will make the value of bitcoin greater than a handful of the world’s stocks. Tesla, for example, has a market capitalization of about $ 700 billion, while Apple is valued at more than $ 2 trillion.
Pro-bitcoin investors and entrepreneurs celebrated the milestone on social media.
“From white paper to $ 1 billion. # Bitcoin eat gold alive, ”Cameron Winklevoss of Gemini said on Twitter.
“RIP bears,” tweeted Anthony Pompliano, co-founder of Morgan Creek Digital Assets.
To be sure, not everyone on Wall Street is convinced of bitcoin’s future prospects. Ken Griffin, founder of Citadel Securities, said Friday he is not interested in cryptocurrency, while JPMorgan researchers said bitcoin’s rally is unsustainable.