The cryptocurrency continues its rise and reaches a new milestone.
Bitcoin illustration. Photo: BENOIT TESSIER / Reuters / NTBPublished:
February 12th
Updated February 12
On Monday evening, the cryptocurrency is traded for over 50,000 dollars, equivalent to 520,000 kroner, data from Coinmarketcap. The highest level since December 2021, according to Bloomberg.
However, the top listing of $65,000 from 2021 is still some way off.
So far this year, the Bitcoin price is up 13 percent. From the same time last year, however, the rate is up 130 percent.
Bloomberg writes that the recent upswing comes after the approval of new exchange products in the US, an event that marks a milestone for the crypto industry.
The new products have been approved after a year-long tug of war with the US Financial Supervisory Authority (SEC), which gave the green light for a number of so-called bitcoin ETFs to be traded on US exchanges.
There has also been optimism to be found on American stock exchanges recently. This is happening, among other things, after the US central bank has signaled that it is moving towards an interest rate cut during 2024.
– The appetite for risk has also spread to digital assets, says Chris Newhouse, analyst at Cumberland Labs to Bloomberg.
Scandals
The cryptocurrency is known for large fluctuations, and has been affected by a number of scandals.
In late November 2023, the head of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, resigned after pleading guilty to violating US money laundering laws.
In November 2022, the crypto exchange FTX went bankrupt. Fraud-accused crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was later found guilty of fraud. Bankman-Fried’s defense attorney Mark S. Cohen has told E24 that Bankman-Fried maintains his innocence and will continue to fight the charges against him.