The price of Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has hit a new all-time high, above $72,000. The surge is being driven by US finance giants pouring billions into buying bitcoins.
The new record represents another dramatic moment in Bitcoin’s turbulent history. In recent years Bitcoin crashed in value after many traditional investors dismissed its rise as a speculative bubble.
The currency was invented in 2009 by a person calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto – their true identity remains a mystery. It was conceived as a means to create money for the internet with an anti-establishment ethos encouraging people to break from the existing power structure of financial institutions and governments.
However, Bitcoin’s new all-time high value is due to establishment firms pouring billions of dollars into acquiring it. This is possible because US regulators recently approved several spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). That allowed giant investment firms like Blackrock, Fidelity and Grayscale to sell products based on the price of Bitcoin. Between them, they have been buying hundreds of thousands of bitcoins, rapidly driving up the value.
Clive Myrie presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Joe Tidy.
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