Bitcoin Vs Dollar Rate: The cryptocurrency achieved a historic milestone, smashing the $20,000 markBitcoin Price Latest News: Cryptocurrency Bitcoin traded above $20,000 for the first time ever on Wednesday, December 17, following a sustained run and recording its highest ever mark amidgreaterinstitutional and corporate interest.
The leading virtual currency peakedat a record-high $20,398.50 before pulling back to $20,145, which was still an intra-day gain of aroundfour percent.
Bitcoin has registered a whirlwind rise since March this year when it was at$5,000.
The recent gains by bitcoin consist ofits broader bull runspurred by online payments giant PayPal after it allowed its customers to use cryptocurrency on its network.
The cryptocurrency hit an all-time peak of $20,800 and was lat up by 12.5 per cent at $22,190.
(Also Read:Bitcoin Trades Above $20,000 For First Time)The virtual currency has gained more than 170 percentthis year, buoyed by the demand from larger investors attracted to its potential for quick gains.
Several banks responded to the increasing useof cryptocurrencies and the lowerutilization of cash, by announcing plans for bank-backed digital units.
Meanwhile, the smaller coins such as ethereum and XRP, oftenmoving in tandem with bitcoin, gained 5.4 per centand 8.1 per cent, respectively.Bitcoin's historic milestone came after several attempts and failures to break above the $20,000 mark.
Since it hasno apparent resistance above this level, it has now entered a price discovery mode and could continue to rise in the near term.Bitcoin's dizzyingrally has witnesseda massive flow of coin to North America from East Asia, fuelled by a hunger for bitcoin among bigger and compliance-wary USinvestors.The rally in bitcoin, which some investors have seen as a potential safe haven, has coincided with the spot gold's declinein recent months.The virtual currency has registereda highly volatile session.
After touching a record high just under $20,000 late last month,bitcoin stalled and even went below $17,000, instillingfears that it would repeat the asset's collapse in 2018.Bitcoin's rally iscreating a ripple effect in the cryptocurrency market as the majority of Altcoins took cues.
Among peers,Ethereum trades at $620 up by 5.6 per centon a daily basis, whereas Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash are trading up at $89 and $300 respectively.Glassnode, which provides an insight on blockchain data, said that long-term holders of bitcoin had been selling the virtual currency after it reached the November record peak.
It noted that this was overall a long-term bullish signal rooted in previous price trends.A bitcoinis the equivalent of cash but in electronic form.
It is similar to any other real-world currency,Like a banknote or a coin, bitcoin gives its holder a direct claim on the central bank,offering a greater level of security as a central bank can never run out of the currency thatit issues.