Bitcoin Market Value Shoots Past $1 Trillion Amid Tesla-Fueled Surge

19 Feb 2021 by Jonathan Ponciano · Forbes

Topline

Following a $1.5 billion investment by Tesla and a wave of new institutional interest, the market capitalization of the world’s first and largest cryptocurrency has surged past $1 trillion Friday for the first time ever, as experts eye booming adoption.

The world’s first and largest cryptocurrency has surged more than 60% this month.Getty Images

Key Facts

Shortly before 11 a.m. on Friday, the price of bitcoin hit a new high of $53,763, jumping 3% for the day and nabbing a market capitalization of more than $1 trillion for the first time ever, according to crypto data firm CoinMarketCap.

Bitcoin’s price has surged more than 60% this month alone, boosted in large part by a $1.5 billion investment by Tesla disclosed on February 8.

In the past week alone, MicroStrategy, one of the world’s largest bitcoin owners, announced a $600 million debt offering to buy more bitcoin, reports surfaced that Morgan Stanley’s $150 billion investment arm may invest also, and North America’s first bitcoin ETF launched to much fanfare on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Those developments followed last week’s disclosure that Tesla, one of the ten largest companies in the S&P 500, invested $1.5 billion in the pioneering cryptocurrency this year in an effort to diversify its balance sheet and begin accepting bitcoin payments.

Crucial Quote

“Bitcoin hitting new highs and moving past the $52k threshold is significant and ultimately speaks to a broader crypto ecosystem morphing behind the scenes,” Wedbush Analyst Dan Ives said in a note to clients Friday. “Given its still-nascent and volatile nature, we believe less than 5% of public companies will head down the bitcoin investment path in some capacity over the next 12 to 18 months, but could move markedly higher as more regulation and acceptance of this currency takes hold further down the road.”

Surprising Fact

Fueled by institutional adoption and inflation concerns stemming from increased government spending during the pandemic, the price of bitcoin has surged more than 400% over the past year.

Chief Critic