The version of the virtual currency Bitcoin is seen on a motherboard in this illustration on April 24, 2020.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
Bitcoin hit a record high of $ 60,000 on Saturday morning and continued the rally as major corporations and financial institutions adopted cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, was at $ 60,415.34 from 7:25 a.m. ET, according to Coinbase, and recovered from a decline in late February that followed a previous record high in that month.
The digital currency has risen 963% over the past 12 months, according to Coinbase. Its value exceeded $ 1 trillion for the second time this year last week.
The Bitcoin rally is driven in part by the increasing adoption by larger institutional investors and businesses and the speculative demand. Tesla bought $ 1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and plans to accept the digital currency as payment for its products, a decision that has sparked greater interest.
Mastercard has also said it will open up its network to some digital currencies. And PayPal and BNY Mellon have made some moves in space.
Believers of Bitcoin argue that the current march is fueled by demand from institutional investors and that it is different from previous gatherings, such as when bitcoin soared to nearly $ 20,000 at the end of 2017 before reaching about 80% of its next year lost value.
Others argue that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value and are concerned that bitcoin may be one of the biggest stimulus-fueled market bubbles.