INTERNATIONAL

Much talked-about cryptocurrency bitcoin has continued to hit record highs having broken through $50,000 (£35,700) last week. On Sunday, bitcoin hit another peak rising above $58,000 as it continues its strong momentum this year. The cryptocurrency has risen more than 90% since the start of January, pushing its total market value above $1tn.

The recent spike has been fuelled by Tesla and other big companies accepting it as payment. However, bitcoin has a track record of wild price swings and has fallen sharply a number of times since it was created in 2009. Bitcoin started the year at roughly $28,900, according to figures from cryptocurrency news site CoinDesk.

When it broke through the $40,000 mark in early January, it triggered a downward trend that saw it drop to around $30,000 by the end of the month. However, having passed $50,000 on 16 February, it has continued its upward momentum breaking through $58,000 on Sunday.  The bitcoin rally has been largely spurred on by well-known companies adopting it as a method of payment.

Elon Musk revealed last week his electric carmaker Tesla had bought $1.5bn worth of bitcoin and would be accepting it as payment for its cars in future. Mastercard also plans to accept bitcoin as a form of payment while BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, is exploring ways it can use the digital currency.The Covid-19 pandemic has also played its part in bitcoin's price rise, as more people go online for shopping, moving further away from physical coins and notes.

Source: BBC