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(Reuters) – The digital currency Bitcoin extended its record rally on Saturday, starting the year rising over $ 30,000 for the first time, with more traders and investors betting it’s on the way to become a traditional means of payment.
The price of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency hit $ 31,824 early Saturday, with almost all other markets closed in the first weekend of 2021. It was last up around 8% at $ 31,743.
Bitcoin rose more than 300% in 2020 and, with the last leg higher, it has added more than 50% since crossing $ 20,000 just two weeks ago.
Blockchain currency has only been around for a decade and in 2020, it saw demand increase from the largest American investors, attracted by its perceived qualities as an inflation hedge and its potential for rapid gains, as well as by the expectations that it would become a current payment method.
Investors said the limited supply of bitcoin – produced by so-called “mining” computers that validate blocks of transactions by competing to solve mathematical puzzles – has helped accelerate upward moves in recent days.
Some also saw it as a safe haven game during the COVID-19 pandemic, similar to gold.
It trades on numerous exchanges, the largest of which is Coinbase, which is preparing itself to go public and become the first such platform to be listed on Wall Street.
Several competing cryptocurrencies using similar blockchain or e-ledger technology. Ethereum, the second largest, gained 465% in 2020 and 5.3% on Saturday.
Reporting by Alden Bentley; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Diane Craft
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