bitcoin
Bitcoin's value grew over 300% last year.
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
  • Bitcoin set a new record Saturday when the price of the digital currency passed $30,000.
  • The blockchain incumbent has been surging in recent weeks, passing the $20,000 price point a little over two weeks ago and edging toward $25,000 on Christmas day.
  • Bitcoin has grown significantly over the last year as it’s drawn in more interest from institutional and retail investors, some of whom view digital coins as a safe haven during the coronavirus pandemic. 
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The price of bitcoin crossed $30,000 for the first time on Saturday as the digital currency continued its rally into the new year. 

Bitcoin reached a high of $33,136.92, a spike of around 14% over the last 24 hours.

The cryptocurrency has been breaking record-after-record in recent days, passing the $20,000 price point a little over two weeks ago and edging toward $25,000 on Christmas day. Its current market cap is about $611 billion.

Bitcoin’s value grew over 300% last year as more institutional investors decided to embrace digital currencies. Companies like PayPal added support for cryptocurrency transactions, and some retail investors turned to digital coins as a safe haven (like gold) during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Investors aren’t sure yet whether bitcoin’s recent rise will impact the price of gold going forward. 

JPMorgan strategists argued in December that the newcomer currency may eventually lower the value of gold because "adoption of bitcoin by institutional investors has only begun, while for gold its adoption by institutional investors is very advanced."

But a Goldman Sachs analyst later wrote that bitcoin was unlikely to negatively affect gold long-term. "We do not see evidence that bitcoin's rally is cannibalizing gold's bull market and believe the two can coexist," the analyst wrote in a note.

Bitcoin wasn't the only digital currency to rise Saturday. Smaller competitors like Ethereum, Litecoin, and Chainlink all saw price jumps during cryptocurrency trading while almost all other markets were closed.

Read more about bitcoin's recent rally: 

 

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