Bitcoin Trading Value Surpasses $50K For The First Time

Aggressive bitcoin trading over the past two-plus months has seen the digital currency’s price tag soar above $50,000 for the first time on Tuesday (Feb. 16), The Wall Street Journal reported. 

The coin currency hit a high of $50,203.53, an increase of 4.2 percent for the day and more than 73 percent so far in 2021. The total volume of bitcoin in circulation has a market value of over $940 billion. 

Brian Melville of Cumberland told WSJ that $50,000 is an “emotional level for people in the space” and is also a reflection of supply and demand at play. 

An estimated 150,000 new bitcoins were minted from August through December, Melville said, and roughly 359,000 bitcoins were purchased during the same timeframe. The imbalance is still evident this year. “It’s a really important metric to watch,” he added.

New bitcoin investors have escalated. Nearly 50 percent of bitcoin traders have been involved with the currency for less than a year. Interest from finance professionals was a big driver of the rally.

This month saw a steady momentum of mainstream institutions and other companies adopting protocols for alternative currencies like bitcoin. Bank of New York Mellon, Mastercard and Tesla are just a few of the companies integrating coin currency payments. Tesla also bought up some $1.5 billion of bitcoin for its corporate treasury.

There is also an increasing number of financial firms that facilitate bitcoin trading, including Robinhood, Square and PayPal. Despite bitcoin’s popularity, however, skeptics have expressed concerns that investments in coin currency are mostly speculative and have only gained traction due to investors seeking easy returns. Finance executives have reservations about coin investing not only because of the volatility, but because of digital currency’s lack of practical uses.

Bitcoin is launched by mining, as people crack puzzles to mint new coins, and it maxes out at 21 million. The coins can be divided to the eighth decimal place, the WSJ reported.

Uber said it won’t be investing in digital currency, but is considering accepting it as a payment method. Morgan Stanley’s investment unit, Counterpoint Global, is looking into bitcoin and other digital currencies as a possible investment strategy. Celebrity endorsements have also helped push digital currency into the mainstream.