Bitcoin tops $50,000 as it wins more mainstream acceptance
LONDON, (Reuters) - Bitcoin rose above $50,000 yesterday for the first time, adding steam to a rally fuelled by signs that the world's biggest cryptocurrency is gaining acceptance among mainstream investors and companies.
Bitcoin hit a record $50,603 and was last up 0.83% at $48,351. It has risen around 67% so far this year, with most of the gains coming after electric carmaker Tesla said it had bought $1.5 billion in bitcoin.
The move by Tesla, which also said it would accept bitcoin as payment, was the latest in a string of large investments that have vaulted bitcoin from the fringes of finance to company balance sheets and Wall Street, with U.S. firms and traditional money managers starting to buy the coin.
"The rally in bitcoin in part reflects the recent buoyancy of market confidence but also headlines suggesting an increase in corporate acceptability," said Jane Foley, head of FX Strategy at Rabobank.
Evolve Funds Group said on Tuesday it had applied to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund on the Toronto Stock Exchange. That would be the second planned bitcoin ETF after Canada's main securities regulator approved a fund by Purpose Investments Inc.
(Jamaica
American stewardess Kalina Collier, who reported that she was being held hostage in Jamaica after testing positive for COVID-19, has been fired from her job at JetBlue Airways.
"After an investigation, the crewmember in question is no longer with JetBlue. We continue to offer our apologies for the frustration and concern this incident has caused and reiterate our confidence in the health protocols
Jamaica has put in place," said Derek Dombrowski, Manager, Corporate Communications in a statement a short while ago.
JetBlue announced yesterday that it was launching an investigation into Collier's actions.
Earlier yesterday, Dombrowski, in a statement on behalf of the airline, apologised to the Goverment of Jamaica.
"We deeply apologise to the people of Jamaica and the Jamaican government for the concern and frustration
this incident has caused,” he said.
Collier arrived in Jamaica on January 28 and was scheduled to depart on February 1.