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Bitcoin hits $19,000 for first time in three years

Bitcoin has gained nearly 40% in November and is up around 160% this year. Photo: Getty Images
Bitcoin has gained nearly 40% in November and is up around 160% this year. Photo: Getty Images

Bitcoin hit $19,000 (£14,227) on Tuesday for the first time in nearly three years, not too far off from its all-time high of $20,000. The cryptocurrency traded below $5,000 as recently as March.

It was last up 2.1%, at $18,823. It has gained nearly 40% in November and is up around 160% this year.

One reason for the surge could be increased institutional investment brought on by economic and geopolitical uncertainty as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Other reasons could include “demand for risk-on assets amid unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus, hunger for assets perceived as resistant to inflation, and expectations that cryptocurrencies would win mainstream acceptance,” a Reuters report said.

Bitcoin was trading at $18,832 as of 10:37AM GMT. Chart: Yahoo Finance UK
Bitcoin was trading at $18,832 as of 10:37AM GMT. Chart: Yahoo Finance UK

A poll carried out by DeVere Group, an independent financial advisory organisations, from last week revealed that nearly three-quarters of high net worth individuals will be invested in cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum and XRP, before the end of 2022.

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CEO of the group, Nigel Green, said: “No doubt that many of these high net worth individuals who were polled have seen that a major driver of the price surge is the growing interest being expressed by institutional investors who are capitalising on the high returns that the digital asset class is currently offering.

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He also said “the recent decision by one of the biggest payment companies in the world, PayPal, to allow customers to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin,” will not have gone unnoticed.

Green said some “inherent characteristics of cryptocurrencies are piquing interest.”

These include “that they’re borderless, making them suited to an ever globalised world of commerce, trade, and people; that they are digital, making them perfectly suited for the increasing digitalization of our world; and that demographics are on the side of cryptocurrencies as younger people are more likely to embrace them than older generations.”

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