Bitcoin hits record US$28,600 as 2020 rally powers on

Bitcoin on Wednesday hit a record US$28,599.99, taking gains this year past 295per cent amid heightened interest from bigger investors.

FILE PHOTO: Representations of virtual currency Bitcoin are seen in this picture illustration taken taken March 13, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

LONDON: Bitcoin on Wednesday hit a record US$28,599.99, taking gains this year past 295per cent amid heightened interest from bigger investors.

The world’s most popular cryptocurrency was last up 3.7per cent at US$28,375. Since breaking US$20,000 for the first time on Dec. 16 it has surged by nearly half.

Bitcoin has increasingly seen demand from larger U.S. investors, in particular, attracted by its perceived inflation-hedging qualities and the potential for quick gains, as well as expectations it would become a mainstream payments method.

(Reporting by Tom Wilson; editing by Simon Jessop)