New York: Bitcoin blasted past $20,000 on Wednesday for the first time in another milestone for the digital asset this year.
The cryptocurrency jumped 7.6% to $20,893 in New York on Wednesday, almost tripling so far this year.
Bitcoin has soared despite the severe crash in March in which it lost 25% amid the covid pandemic. That the coin can act as a store of wealth amid rampant printing of currency notes by central banks amid muted inflation helped boost its value.
Many companies are moving in to cash in on the cryptocurrency’s gains amid low interest rates.
In November end, Bitcoin breached its earlier peak set three years earlier. The coin was valued at a few cents when it was launched in late 2008 by an anonymous IT nerd amid the global financial crisis.
Fellow crypto coins also jumped. Dash and Litecoin each jumped at least 6%. Ether rose as much as 6.9%, showed data, upon which cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase reported congestion and delays in advancing tokens.