Bitcoin shatters $20,000 barrier for first time

Bitcoin smashed through $20,000 for the first time on Wednesday, its highest ever, amid increased institutional and corporate interest.

The cryptocurrency hit an all-time peak of $20,800 and was last up 6.4% at $20,675. It has gained more than 170% this year, buoyed by demand from larger investors attracted to its potential for quick gains, purported resistance to inflation and expectations it will become a mainstream payment method.

Smaller coins ethereum and XRP, which often move in tandem with bitcoin, gained 5.4% and 8.1%, respectively.

“Many of our clients have been expecting bitcoin to surpass its all-time high of $20,000 given the recent news from major institutional players like SGX and MassMutual openly endorsing bitcoin,” said Scott Freeman, co-founder & partner at trading firm JST Capital.

“While this is a major milestone for this nascent asset class, as retail, institutional, and blue-chip investors alike allocate more capital to this space, it would not be surprising to see other coins follow in BTC’s footsteps and for this upward trajectory to be sustained into 2021.”

Bitcoin’s blistering rally has seen a massive flow of coin to North America from East Asia, fuelled by hunger for bitcoin among bigger and compliance-wary US investors.

British fund manager Ruffer Investment Management, which managed 20.3 billion pounds ($27.3 billion) in assets at end-November, made a bet on bitcoin now worth around 550 million pounds ($745 million), a spokesman for the company told Reuters.

“While this is a major milestone for this nascent asset class, as retail, institutional, and blue-chip investors alike allocate more capital to this space, it would not be surprising to see other coins follow in BTC’s footsteps and for this upward trajectory to be sustained into 2021.”

Bitcoin’s blistering rally has seen a massive flow of coin to North America from East Asia, fuelled by hunger for bitcoin among bigger and compliance-wary US investors.

British fund manager Ruffer Investment Management, which managed 20.3 billion pounds ($27.3 billion) in assets at end-November, made a bet on bitcoin now worth around 550 million pounds ($745 million), a spokesman for the company told Reuters.

Glassnode, which provides insight on blockchain data, said long-term holders of bitcoin had been selling the virtual currency after it reached the November record peak. It noted however that this was overall a long-term bullish signal rooted in previous price trends.