New York: The total number of cryptocurrency bitcoin trading is now collectively worth more than one trillion dollars (about Rs 72.73 lakh crore). CNN reports that the price of a bitcoin hit a number of new all-time highs on Friday. One bitcoin currently costs around 55,000 dollars and there are about 18.6 million bitcoins in circulation, according to Coinbase. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency created in 2009 by an unknown person using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. Transactions are anonymous and are made with no brokers or intermediaries.
One cannot physically use bitcoin as it is a digital currency. And it is decentralised, meaning that it is not controlled by a bank or government.
CNN said bitcoin prices have surged more than 80 per cent so far this year, and investors are enthusiastically scooping up other cryptocurrencies as well.
Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency with a total value of 220 billion dollars, has more than doubled this year. And the price of dogecoin, a currency that originally started as a dog meme-based joke, also has skyrocketed this year following several bullish tweets about it by Tesla founder Elon Musk and support from traders on Reddit.
According to CNN, corporate America is validating bitcoin. Payments giants Square and PayPal let their users buy and sell it. Credit card processing behemoths Visa and Mastercard are also embracing cryptocurrencies.
Also read: Why Tesla’s big Bitcoin splash isn’t exciting news for Indians investing in cryptocurrencies