Bitcoin grew by 0.57% and in its peak reached $37,168, according to CoinDesk web portal. Thus, the price of the cryptocurrency has updated its historical maximum, TASS writes.
Bitcoin is a decentralized system of the eponymous cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology. It can be issued by any user who is a member of the system. The system concept was published in November 2008, but has exploded in popularity in recent years.
Interest in the world’s biggest cryptocurrency has soared this year, with investors viewing bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and an alternative to the depreciating dollar. The rush led to bitcoin prices more than tripling in the past six months to a record peak of $34,800 on Jan. 2, Reuters adds.
“Bitcoin’s competition with gold has already started in our mind,” the Wall Street bank’s strategists said in a note, citing recent $7 billion outflows from gold and more than $3 billion of inflows into the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
That could mark a new dawn for the volatile digital currency after years as a play for speculators and retail punters.
“Considering how big the financial investment into gold is, a crowding out of gold as an ‘alternative’ currency implies big upside for bitcoin over the long term,” JPM said.
Bitcoin is likely to outshine gold as millennials become a more important component of the investment market over time and given their preference for “digital gold” over traditional bullion, JPM added.
With a market capitalisation of $575 billion, the bitcoin price would need a nearly fivefold jump to $146,000 to match the value of private gold wealth held in gold bars, coins or exchange-traded funds, the bank’s note added.
