LONDON (UK) – Bitcoin struck a record of $62,741 on Tuesday, extending its 2021 rally to new heights a day before the listing of Coinbase shares in the United States.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency rose as much as 5% on Tuesday. Smaller rival Ethereum also reached a record high of $2,205.
Major firms including BNY Mellon, Mastercard Inc and Tesla Inc are among those to have embraced or invested in cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin topped $60,000 early last month, triggered by Tesla’s action to buy $1.5 billion of the digital currency for its balance sheet.
“When bitcoin markets create new highs the price often range-trades and we witness a round of profit-taking,” said James Butterfill of digital asset manager CoinShares.
“During this most recent period have witnessed a similar profit-taking round, which now looks to have run its course.”
The sturdy rise of bitcoin, which traded at a few hundred dollars only five years earlier, has prompted major investment banks to give cautions about a speculative bubble.