Topline
Bitcoin soared past a new record high of $50,000 on Tuesday morning as a surge in institutional interest continued to fuel the popular cryptocurrency’s huge rally—here are all the bitcoin announcements from business giants in the last week alone.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on December 01, 2020 in Berlin, Germany.
Key Facts
On Monday morning, business analytics company MicroStrategy announced a $600 million debt offering and says proceeds of the sale will be used to buy more bitcoin.
Over the weekend, news broke that a $150 billion division of investing giant Morgan Stanley is considering adding bitcoin to its portfolio.
BNY Mellon announced on Thursday last week that its wealth management arm will now process cryptocurrencies through the same channels as other holdings like stocks and bonds.
That same day, the approval of the first North American bitcoin exchange traded fund was announced in Canada.
MasterCard is also joining in, announcing last week that it will begin to support some cryptocurrencies on its payments network.
Big Number
68%. That’s how much bitcoin has gained in 2021, from levels around $30,000 at the beginning of January to Tuesday’s $50,000 record, a rally that many experts attribute to more serious institutional interest rather than speculative retail trading.
Crucial Quote
“The key for Bitcoin’s path higher is to win over more corporate endorsements,” OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moya wrote in a research note last week. “
Chief Critic
Not everyone is bullish on the most popular cryptocurrency. Earlier this year, Bank of America called bitcoin’s rapid rise the “mother of all bubbles.”
Key Background
Some of bitcoin’s recent gains are undoubtedly fueled by a surprise announcement from electric car maker Tesla that it had invested $1.5 billion into bitcoin and plans to start accepting bitcoin as payment for its products. Tesla’s billionaire CEO Elon Musk has been a vocal proponent of digital currencies on social media, and his tweets often send the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like dogecoin soaring.
Further Reading
Bitcoin’s Epic Run Is Winning More Attention on Wall Street (Bloomberg)
Bitcoin Soars To New High After Tesla Says It Invested $1.5 Billion (Forbes)
Bitcoin Losses Near $200 Billion As JPMorgan Warns It’s The ‘Least Reliable’ Dollar Hedge (Forbes)
Forbes Blockchain 50 Of 2021: Cashing In On Bitcoin Mania (Forbes)
