The highly popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin hit another all-time high
Bitcoin soared above US$50,000 for the first time Tuesday as corporate heavyweights increasingly back the world's most popular virtual currency.
At around 1235 GMT, bitcoin hit an all-time high of US$50,547.70, marking a 4.4-percent gain since Monday. It later stood at US$49,213.54.
The unit, once the preserve of internet geeks and hobbyists, has since exploded in popularity and has now rocketed by almost 75 per cent in value this year.
"The crypto king has crossed the US$50,000 price level for the first time as institutions are all over it," said AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam. "There is a lot of FOMO (fear of missing out) among traders as the price is going through the roof and we have limited supply."
Aslam told AFP that bitcoin could reach US$100,000.
"Of course, there will be some bumps but investors should consider them as an opportunity to bag some bargains," he added.
Bitcoin has been on a meteoric rise since March last year, when it stood at US$5,000, spurred by online payments giant PayPal saying it would allow account holders to use cryptocurrency. The unit last week blasted its way past US$45,000 after Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla invested US$1.5 billion in the virtual unit.
In a further boost, Tesla unveiled plans to accept the cryptocurrency from customers buying its vehicles.