Bitcoin’s seemingly unstoppable ascent carried the crypto to a new all-time peak, registering $52,100 in Asian trading Thursday just a day after cruising past $50,000 for the first time, Bloomberg reports.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) price, which has soared 70% so far this year, has given the digital asset an imposing market value of nearly $1 trillion, courtesy in part by Tesla’s recent major acquisition to the tune of $1.5 billion and MicroStrategy’s push into the crypto space not to mention Wall Street bigwigs who invested in the crypto.
The value of the world’s most popular crypto has quintupled in the last year. It traded at just under the $10,000 level on Feb. 16 last year.
Ether also flexes its muscle
Ether, the world’s second-biggest electronic currency, notched a record high on Thursday, propelled by the steady advance in bitcoin.
Ether hit $1,918.51 during morning sessions in Asia but has since pared some gains, CoinDesk figures show. Ether was trading at $1,883.57 at 12.14 p.m. Singapore time, up around 8%.
Activity in bitcoin futures, on the other hand, indicates traders do not see an abrupt end to the crypto’s rise, with spreads continuing to grow between the active contract and March futures, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The vaunted $1 trillion level
According to CoinDesk, the next major milestone for bitcoin would come when its market value exceeds $1 trillion, a threshold that would signal a new degree of maturity for the digital asset.
Based on the outstanding number of the crypto, which is currently around 18.6 million, that would come when its price hits $53,677.
Bitcoin could reach the $1 million mark over the long term to become a global reserve currency, an asset manager predicts.
Anthony Pompliano, co-founder and partner at Morgan Creek Digital Assets, said the crypto could be valued at $500,000 by end of the decade — and could eventually hit $1 million per coin, without saying exactly when.
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