Bitcoin boomed, surpassing $ 50,000 for the first time

At 19:32 (Vietnam time), Bitcoin’s price reached $ 50,191 and has increased by about 73% year-to-date. Meanwhile, Ether hit a record last Friday and is up about 140% in 2021.

After ending 2020 with an increase in the fourth quarter of 170% to about $ 29,000, Bitcoin continued to hit $ 40,000 over the next 7 days. In just six weeks, the digital currency continued to surpass new milestones, fueled by the support of famous investors such as Paul Tudor Jones, Stan Druckenmiller and billionaire Elon Musk. More than a decade ago, Bitcoin was trading around a few cents.

Bitcoin crossed the $ 50,000 mark

On February 8, Tesla’s announcement of a $ 1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin became the “catalyst” that brought Bitcoin up 16% – the biggest increase in a day since Covid-19 made the market. Financial volatility in March last year.

In addition, optimism for the digital currency also increased after Mastercard and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. offering customer support services using digital money more easily. Meanwhile, on Saturday, Bloomberg reported that Morgan Stanley is likely to bet on Bitcoin.

Antoni Trenchev – partner and co-founder of Nexo in London – one of the world’s largest digital lenders, said: “Whether it’s Musk, Mastercard or Morgan Stanley, motivation is a must. To the dissatisfaction of some people, the Bitcoin ‘train’ left the station. ”

The 400% increase in the past year comes as central banks’ lending rates are almost zero and governments have launched stimuli of an unprecedented scale after the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Bitcoin proponents have criticized these moves as printing money even though inflation is still down.

Last week, in a blog post, Mastercard mentioned “stablecoins” (digital currencies designed to minimize price volatility) – often pegged to another asset class, such as USD. Mastercard has partnered with crypto card providers such as Wirex and BitPay, but requires cryptocurrencies to be converted into fiat money before processing payments for transactions on our network. surname.

Trenchev warned that investors should be prepared for volatility after Bitcoin hits its latest milestone. He cited a 30% reduction last month. “Short-term volatility is a characteristic of the current bull market, investors should be prepared,” he said.