Bitcoin’s price hike so far this week has been controversial. After spending January trading between $ 30,000 and $ 40,000, the leading digital currency rose to reach a historic high of around $ 48,000. The nearly $ 10,000 rise has drawn criticism from various regulators and individuals, describing it as a bubble. However, traders were dismissive of these warnings because this is not the first time that Bitcoin has been referred to as a bubble.
On Wednesday, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, Timothy Lynn, dismissed the bitcoin spike as merely a speculative mania. His comments come after Tesla, a leading electric vehicle manufacturer, announced an investment in Bitcoin worth $ 1.5 billion from its balance sheet. Tesla’s comments pushed Bitcoin prices to an all-time high of $ 42,000, to hit a new record high of $ 48,000. Even before Tesla announced that it would invest in Bitcoin, Elon Musk had appeared to be supportive of the cryptocurrency market. This appeared when he tended to spread tweets on Twitter that strongly supported the digital currency Dogecoin, which led to its rise to record levels.
On the other hand, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde believes that central banks around the world will not resort to owning bitcoins anytime soon. Lagarde has been fiercely critical of the leading digital assets, and recently said that Bitcoin is only a speculative asset and has argued that a global regulation should be put in place to oversee the leading digital assets. Despite her criticizing comments, Lagarde acknowledged that the coronavirus pandemic has boosted the need for digital currencies.
And in the latest measures to support the bitcoin currency, Mastercard announced its new plans to give its customers the option to receive payments using digital currencies later this year. Sources familiar with the matter said that the company has not yet disclosed the digital currencies it intends to support.
