By Ashley Young-
The price of Bitcoin jumped above $50,000 for the first time in its history amid reports that a number of major Wall Street investors may be planning to move into the cryptocurrency.
The cryptocurrency skyrocketed to a record high of $50,602.53 on Tuesday, February 16, after Bloomberg reported that JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are weighing up multi-million dollar investments in bitcoin.
The incredible milestone was reached due to growing demand among corporate and institutional investors.
Elon Musk’s Tesla triggered the latest climb in Bitcoin after purchasing $1.5 billion worth in January
The cryptocurrency has grown by 70% since the start of this year, and seen its value more than triple since November.
Market commentators pointed out that the electric car firm’s interests alone could have risen by up to $750m in value since.
A Wall Street Journal report on Thursday said BNY Mellon planned to issue, hold, and transfer clients’ bitcoin. It would be the first global bank to provide an integrated digital-asset service to its customers.
Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Bitcoin broker AvaTrade, told Sky News that he expected bitcoin’s value to continue to grow in the coming weeks and months as major Wall Street investors seek to get in on the action. ‘Institutions are all over it’ he said, adding, ‘There is a lot of FOMO among traders as price is going through the roof and we have limited supply.’
Aslam said the sky is the limit for the cryptocurrency, which he believes could go as high as $65,ooo in the near future.
Since reaching the record high earlier to day, bitcoin has fallen slightly to around $49,300, but is still up some 3% in the last 24 hours.
Russ Mould, investment director of AJ Bell, said bitcoin’s longer-term prospects depend on whether more people embrace the cryptocurrency:
The more people that adapt it and use it as money, then the greater the chances of it perhaps being taken on board as a mainstream currency.
“That would feed further speculative interest.”