Bitcoin surged into an all-time high territory last week as investors bet the digital currency will gain greater acceptance globally as an investment vehicle. The cryptocurrency crossed the $1,500 mark on Thursday and, besides a slip to $1,491 on Friday , it has remained above this mark till Sunday.
To give context, gold price as on Sunday was about $1,230 per ounce (around $39 per gram).The price of the yellow metal has not touched the $1,500 range in the last four years. Since 2013, when gold was in the $1,500-1,600 range, its price has been hovering around $1,200. The crypto currency , on the other hand, has been growing ever since it crossed the $1,000 mark in January this year.
“Today , one bitcoin is worth almost Rs 1 lakh. Last month, we saw some stagna tion, which is the result of demand and supply pull. There is some amount of speculation involved as well,” said Benson Samuel, CTO and co-founder,
Coinsecure, a bitcoin exchange in India. The
virtual currency exchange has over 1,50,000 users who trade on average 200 bitcoins daily . In the last month alone, they have seen 100 new users sign up.
The demonetisation drive by the government saw a lot of users looking at alternate modes of investment, with bitcoins being sought after. “Two years ago, I had to explain what a bitcoin is. Now, there is more adoption as a commodity,” said Sathvik Vishwanath, co-founder, Unocoin, backed by the likes of Blume Ventures, Boost VC and other international investors.
The acceptance of the cryptocurrency’s legality by the Chinese and Japanese governments has come as a big boost.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/e-gold-bitcoin-shines-past-1500/articleshow/58567842.cms
