Bitcoin is back with a bang, as it hits a new record this Monday

Bitcoin has reached a record high price at the end of 2020, after its slow rise seen in the early stages of the ongoing pandemic. Cryptocurrency on Monday climbed to $19,850 (roughly Rs 14.5 lakh), beating its previous high mark set in 2017, according to CoinDesk.

It took Bitcoin almost three years to make a comeback. After it approached a record high price of $20,000 in December 2017 and then experiencing a crash that made one bitcoin to be priced at $3,000 a year later.

The previous spike of this decentralized currency, which was built by a group of anonymous developers back in 2008 and which requires high levels of computing power to mine them, was driven mostly by Asian investors. But CoinDesk now suggests that the current run is built on institutional investors in North America.

Square INC, a California based payment service founded by Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, announced in October that it has invested $50 million in Bitcoin. “We believe that this cryptocurrency has the potential to be a more ubiquitous currency in the future,” Square Chief Financial Officer Amrita Ahuja said.

Online payments giant PayPal has also announced that it would allow cryptocurrencies to be bought, sold, and held on its platform in early 2021.

Bitcoin’s price is highly volatile, which is driven in large part by the buy and sell cycle, uncertainty, the news cycle, and concerns over its application. After reaching its record high price on Monday, the value has now dipped slightly and as of writing, one Bitcoin worth around $19,500. And still, some analysts expect that it will climb over the $20,000 and be more sustainable.