Bitcoin crosses $34,000 first time in 12 years, rises $5,000 in 3 days

Bitcoin continued its unabated rally on the third day of 2021. The most popular cryptocurrency surged past $34,000 on Sunday, the day of Bitcoin Network’s 12-year anniversary. The development came within 24 hours of Bitcoin crossing the $30,000 milestone.

With yet another above $1,000 surge, Bitcoin’s value has increased around $5,000 in the within the first three days of 2021, bringing its year-to-date returns to 12 per cent, reported Coindesk.

On Saturday, Bitcoin had crossed the $30,000 mark for the first time. During early trade on Sunday, the digital currency reached an all-time high of $34,544.94. It later gave up some gains to hover around $33,000. At the time of writing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $33,900.50, up 10.59 per cent.

Bitcoin’s continuous surge during the past three days comes in the backdrop of a historic year when the digital currency gave more than 300 per cent returns, surpassing even safe-haven investment avenues like gold and silver.

Last year, Bitcoin had fallen 25 per cent in March amid the coronavirus crisis. It managed to bounce back, breaching the $20,000 mark for the first time at the end of November. The cryptocurrency then continued to surge, rising 50 per cent in December alone. By the end of December 31, Bitcoin had risen $10,000.

The main reason behind the rise of Bitcoin may be bulk buying by big US investors. They expect to make quick gains amid some positive developments around the cryptocurrency, including speculations that it could become a mainstream payment method.

A major jump in Bitcoin price – from $5,000 to $25,000 – was seen after online payment major PayPal announced in March that it’ll enable its account holders to use Bitcoin. This marks a colossal 400 per cent increase in the past eight months. ZebPay, one of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has predicted that Bitcoin’s value could hit over $135,000 by 2030.

As Bitcoin grows in popularity, Indian government is planning to impose 18 per cent GST on its transactions. The Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB), an arm of Finance Ministry, has put forward a proposal to impose 18 per cent GST, saying it could potentially gain Rs 7,200 crore annually on bitcoin trading. The CEIB came to the conclusion based on a study on levying GST on cryptocurrencies.

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