Bitcoin hits record $28,600 as 2020 rally powers on
The world’s most popular cryptocurrency was up 3.7 percent at $28,375 before settling at $27,503.
Representations of virtual currency Bitcoin are placed on US Dollar banknotes in this illustration taken May 26, 2020.
Bitcoin has hit a record value of $28,599.99, taking gains this year past 295 percent amid heightened interest from bigger investors.
The world's most popular cryptocurrency was last up 3.7 percent at $28,375. Since breaking $20,000 for the first time on December 16 it has surged by nearly half.
Bitcoin has increasingly seen demand from larger US investors, in particular, attracted by its perceived inflation-hedging qualities and the potential for quick gains, as well as expectations it would become a mainstream payments method.
Volatile history
Bitcoin's 12-year history has been peppered with vertiginous gains and equally sharp drops. Its markets remain highly opaque compared with traditional assets such as stocks or bonds.
Its rally this year has prompted some investors to claim the cryptocurrency could more than quintuple in price to as high as $100,000 in a year, drawing eye rolls from skeptics who say it is a purely speculative asset.
Cryptocurrency markets have matured since bitcoin's retail-fuelled rally in 2017, attracting bigger investors.
READ MORE: Inflation-hedge, risk-on bet: What’s behind bitcoin’s 2020 rally?
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