Bitcoin hits MORE record highs as it soars by 2.5% to £46,665 with Coinbase set to become first major cryptocurrency firm to list on stock market today
Bitcoin has hit a new record high today as it extended its rally this year ahead of a listing by the world's largest crypto-currency exchange.
The digital currency rose 2.5 per cent to $64,211 (£46,665) this morning and is now up nearly 1,000 per cent in a year - a return which far outstrips stock market gains.
Yesterday, Bitcoin rose 5 per cent which beat the previous peak in March. It began 2021 at about $29,000 (£21,000) and was at $6,800 (£4,900) this time last year.
It comes as Coinbase today becomes the first major crypto-currency company to list on the stock market in a test of investor appetite for other start-ups in the sector.
Bitcoin, which is the world's biggest crypto-currency, is created using computer code
Coinbase today becomes the first major crypto-currency company to list on the stock market
It is set to list on the Nasdaq in the US valued at £772million. Coinbase is understood to have been used by Tesla in its recent acquisition of £1billion worth of Bitcoin.
Nick Spanos, co-founder of blockchain platform Zap.org, said: 'The upcoming public debut of Coinbase is particularly exciting to both the mainstream market investors as well as crypto market enthusiasts.
'They are excited as Coinbase will open the gates for more conservative investors to embrace the coin, and perhaps other digital assets.'
And Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote, added: 'Coinbase's debut will mark the first official juncture between the traditional financial avenue and the alternative crypto path.
'A successful addition to Nasdaq should act as endorsement of cryptocurrencies by traditional investors.'
Other major institutional investors have started investing in Bitcoin over the past year. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are close to offering digital assets to clients.
But sceptics argue that digital coins have been inflated by stimulus that has also sent stock markets to record levels.
And global regulators are stepping up their scrutiny, while warning investors to stay away from the asset class.
Earlier this year Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned that investors in Bitcoin had better be prepared to lose all their money.
Mr Bailey believes Bitcoin is similar to gambling and has the same level of risk.
Founded in 2012, Coinbase boasts 56million users globally and an estimated $223 billion assets on its platform, accounting for 11.3 per cent crypto asset market share.
The listing of Coinbase on the Nasdaq today will mark a milestone in the journey of virtual currencies from niche technology to mainstream asset.
The listing is by far the biggest yet of a cryptocurrency company, with the San Francisco-based firm saying last month that private market transactions had valued the company at around $68billion (£49billion) this year, versus $5.8billion (£4.2billion) last September.
PAST WEEK: Bitcoin increased by 2.5 per cent to $64,211 (£46,665) today after a bumper week
2021 SO FAR: The value of Bitcoin has shot up having begun the year at $29,000 (£21,000)
SINCE START OF 2020: The crypto currency was trading at $6,800 (£4,900) this time last year
It represents the latest breakthrough for acceptance of cryptocurrencies, an asset class that only a few years ago had been shunned by mainstream finance.
William Cong, an associate professor of finance at Cornell University, said: "The listing is significant in that it marks the growth of the industry and its acceptance into mainstream business.'
Meanwhile global stock markets pushed to record highs today as bond yields eased, after data showed US inflation was not rising too fast as the economy reopens.
With fears receding for now that a strong inflation reading might endanger the Federal Reserve's accommodative stance, European shares opened slightly higher.
Gains were capped after Johnson & Johnson said it would delay rolling out its Covid-19 vaccine to Europe, after US health agencies recommended pausing its use in the country after six women developed rare blood clots.
Led by Hong Kong's Hang Seng, most Asia-Pacific share indexes also climbed. Benchmark US Treasury yields continued to fall, marking a fresh three-week low.
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