Bitcoin Value Reaches $63,000 Record High

The value Bitcoin has surged again and has now reached a record high, amidst growing acceptance from mainstream institutions.

The value of bitcoin and other digital currencies surged just before the launch of Coinbase trading platform on Wall Street.

Bitcoin itself meanwhile surged 5 percent on Tuesday, to a record high of $63,000 (£45,800).

Volatile values

The value of Bitcoin remains highly volatile, and it has undergone several massive price drops during its existence.

For comparison purposes, it was trading at about only $7,000 in April 2020.

That said, the cryptocurrency has risen in value by 450 percent in the last six months alone.

On 13 March for example, it reached a then record high of over $60,000, when it reached as high as $61,556.

Indeed, the currency has more than tripled in value since the beginning of this year, as several large companies and mainstream organisations have shown increased interest in the virtual currency.

The cryptocurrency total value surpassed $1tn in February and $2 trillion in April, helped when Elon Musk and Tesla revealed it had purchased $1.5bn in Bitcoin.

The smaller, rival cryptocurrency Ethereum also rose on Tuesday, reaching its own record high of $2,205.

Some concern

There remains a mixed reaction to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in some quarters.

Mastercard said it plans to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment, while the Bank of New York Mellon said in February it would hold, transfer and issue bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of its asset-management clients.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange now provides Bitcoin pricing information, in another move that indicates growing mainstream acceptance.

But many governments’ central banks have warned against it, and investor Warren Buffett has said it is “probably rat poison squared“.

In January India even laid out an official agenda that could see the country officially banning crypto-assets such as bitcoin.

If the plans come to fruition, India would be the world’s first major economy to make holding cryptocurrencies illegal.