Bitcoin, the world’s most-valuable virtual currency, breached the $20,000 mark for the first time in history today during trading.
According to CoinDesk data, the Bitcoin price traded 5.6% higher to a price of around $20,600, taking its year-to-date gains to more than 180%. The gains for the digital asset was supported by attention from institutional investors on cryptos like bitcoin and other virtual currencies.
In October this year, PayPal announced the launch of a new service enabling its customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency directly from their PayPal account, and signaled its plans to significantly increase cryptocurrency’s utility by making it available as a funding source for purchases at its 26 million merchants worldwide.
CNBC also reports that “major Wall Street firms like S&P Global and Cboe Global Markets have been making a big push into crypto market data services. S&P Dow Jones Indices recently announced plans to launch crypto indices in 2021, while Cboe has tapped New York-based trading software firm Coinroutes’ crypto market data capabilities.”
Google also recognised that this year, global interest in Bitcoin rose by 108%. The surge in searches correlates with Bitcoin’s continued interest from investors as well as a soaring value.
This upward trend is reminiscent of 2017 when the price nearly hit $20,000
Created in 2009, the total supply of bitcoins that will ever be “mined” is capped at 21 million. Experts say this is due to a monetary rule implemented by the cryptocurrency’s mysterious inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto.
