London (AFP)
The price of bitcoin rose above the $ 50,000 threshold on Monday for the first time in three months, boosted in particular by positive announcements from the online payments giant Paypal and the cryptocurrency purchasing platform Coinbase.
At around 9:25 a.m. GMT, bitcoin's price rose 4% on the session, to $ 50,350, after reaching $ 50,440 a few hours earlier, its highest since mid-May.
The price "is driven by an announcement from Paypal", which has extended its cryptocurrency buying and selling service in the UK, "a clear sign of growing demand," said Timo Emden, an independent cryptocurrency analyst.
At the end of 2020, the launch of this service in the United States had given some legitimacy to bitcoin, especially since it had been followed over the months by projects in the world of cryptocurrencies from players in traditional finance, such as banking. BNY Mellon or the BlackRock investment fund.
"And the announcement last week from Coinbase, which will invest $ 500 million of its cash in cryptocurrency, is part of the market enthusiasm," added Neil Wilson, analyst at Markets.com.
The platform, listed on Wall Street, intends to continue by investing in the future 10% of its profits in digital currencies, she announced Friday.
Very volatile, bitcoin has gained nearly 70% in one month and 330% over one year, but it remains down 23% compared to its all-time high, reached in mid-April at 64,870 dollars.
The very media multi-billionaire Elon Musk, boss of Tesla, then decided to refuse payments in bitcoin for his electric vehicles, contrary to a previous commitment, citing its environmental impact.
He pointed to the gigantic electricity consumption of bitcoin "mines", these computer servers that constantly rotate around the world to operate this decentralized network.
Mr Musk has indicated that he will accept bitcoin payments again when the virtual currency is less polluting.
And other big players in tech and finance have confirmed their interest, such as Twitter boss Jack Dorsey.
But impossible to say if the rise in prices will continue: "the new range of negotiation could be between 40,000 and 50,000 dollars", estimates thus Rick Bensignor, of Bensignor Investment Strategies.
"For the cryptocurrency market, the presence of Paypal is positive," admits Laith Khalaf, analyst at AJ Bell, but "the craziness of cryptos remains a matter of concern for consumer organizations and regulators."
The French market regulator, the AMF, believes that "bitcoin is for sophisticated investors", and its British equivalent, the FCA, warns that buyers "must be prepared to lose all their money".
© 2021 AFP