Bitcoin’s meteoric rise in recent months continued Thursday as the virtual currency shattered the $20,000 barrier and surged to more than $23,000 per coin.
The world’s oldest and most popular cryptocurrency surged past 20% in just one day and has risen more than 200% this year alone.
The reasons are not clear, but some observers point to institutions like PayPal, which have started allowing customers to use the cryptocurrency.
Other investment professionals are starting to add Bitcoin to their portfolios.
According to Business Insider, billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones and investment banker Mike Novogratz have recently lauded Bitcoin, saying it was likely to keep going higher.
Another reason for the surge could be the anticipation of high inflation.
In a recent television interview, Scott Minerd, global chief investment officer at Guggenheim Investments, said “rapid money printing,” along with Bitcoin’s scarcity, could push it to over $400,000 per coin.
Only 21 million Bitcoins will ever exist. Currently there are just over 18.5 million in existence. New bitcoins are created by “mining,” in which a global network of computers competes to solve complex algorithms in reward for fractions of Bitcoins.
If Bitcoin continues at this pace, “testing $36,000 will be the next real objective,” said Dan Gunsberg, co-founder and CEO of Hxro, a cryptotrading platform, according to Bloomberg.
Gunsberg added that if the virtual currency were to fall below $13,800, the price could stagnate for a period.
