Bitcoin Vs Dollar Rate: Bitcoin was last up up 8.75 per cent at $57,107.2. Cryptocurrency bitcoin hit a market capitalization of $1 trillion as it surged to achieve yet another record high of $56,399.99 on Friday, February 19, continuing its bull stint fuelled by gaining further acceptance from mainstream investors and corporate majors. The world s most popular cryptocurrency surged to an all-time high, crossing the $57,000 mark on Saturday, posting a weekly gain of 18 per cent. It has surged nearly 70 per cent so far this month and was last up 8.75 per cent at $57,107.2. The digital currency countered analyst warnings that it is an economic side show and a poor hedge against a fall in stock prices.
Bitcoin hit a record $50,603 and was last up 0.83 per cent at $48,351.
Bitcoin rose above $50,000 on Tuesday for the first time, adding steam to a rally fuelled by signs that the world s biggest cryptocurrency is gaining acceptance among mainstream investors and companies.
Bitcoin hit a record $50,603 and was last up 0.83 per cent at $48,351. It has risen around 67 per cent so far this year, with most of the gains coming after electric carmaker Tesla said it had bought $1.5 billion in bitcoin.
The move by Tesla, which also said it would accept bitcoin as payment, was the latest in a string of large investments that have vaulted bitcoin from the fringes of finance to company balance sheets and Wall Street, with US firms and traditional money managers starting to buy the coin.
Reserve Bank of India said that it is working on a digital version of the rupee
Digital Currency in India: The government revealed in its budget session that it plans to introduce a new bill on cryptocurrencies, namely the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, which will ban all private cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and put in place a framework for an official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India, according to a legislative agenda listed by the government. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Rajya Sabha on February 9 that a high-level Inter-Ministerial Committee constituted under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Economic Affairs) will study the issues related to virtual currencies. (
COMMENTARY:
Russ Mould, Investment Director, AJ Bell With Bank of NY Mellon and Mastercard having given it an affirmation in the last week, it s a massive step forward for the bitcoin investors who view it as the future of money. (Tesla boss Elon) Musk s intervention has created interest, and the more people that adapt it and use it as money, then the greater the chances of it perhaps being taken on board as a mainstream currency. That would feed further speculative interest at the same time. There is a risk of intervention (by central banks). The rules can be changed. But the more people start to use it and give it greater legitimacy, the harder it is for central banks to push back.
By Joanna Ossinger
Bitcoin’s correlation with stocks and gold is declining as the token scales fresh peaks, bolstering arguments that cryptocurrencies offer portfolio diversification benefits.
The 90-day correlation of the S&P 500 index and Bitcoin has dropped to about 0.21 from a recent peak above 0.50 in October. A comparable measure for the token and bullion is near the lowest in about a year.
“In terms of Bitcoin, as well as other digital coins, versus other traditional risky asset classes, the diversification benefits remain intact,” said Benson Durham, head of quantitative global policy analytics at Cornerstone Macro LLC. He and colleague Roberto Perli last year said adding cryptocurrencies to an all-stock portfolio could temper volatility.