Bitcoin rallies on, surges to $50,000

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The seemingly unstoppable rise of Bitcoin continued Tuesday with the cost of a single unit of the digital currency rising above $50,000 for the first time.

The same Bitcoin just one year ago would have cost you $10,000. The price is up almost 200 percent in the plast three months alone. It rose sharply early Tuesday, though giving up some of those gains.

Bitcoin has rallied as more companies signal the volatile digital currency eventually could gain widespread acceptance as a means of payment. The vast majority of those who have acquired Bitcoin have treated it as a commodity, like gold, with few places accepting it in exchange for goods or services.