Bitcoin hits record above $71,000 as demand rises

Bitcoin hit a record high on Monday above $71,000, as the surge in the biggest cryptocurrency showed no signs of slowing down.

Britain's financial watchdog on Monday became the latest regulator to pave the way for digital asset trading products after saying on Monday it will now permit recognized investment exchanges to launch crypto-backed exchange-traded notes.

Bitcoin rose by as much as 4.8% to a record $71,677 in European trading, bringing gains for the year so far to 70%.

The world's most valuable cryptocurrency has been boosted by a flood of cash into new spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds as well as hopes that the Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates.

"Bitcoin has started the week with a surge, dragging the rest of the cryptocurrency space higher with it," DailyFX strategist Nick Cawley said.

Supply of bitcoin, which is limited to 21 million tokens, is going to get tighter in April, when the so-called halving event takes place.

"News also out earlier that the LSE plans to accept applications for bitcoin and ethereum ETNs in Q2 may have also helped today’s push higher," Cawley said.

Nonetheless, demand is picking up across the investment community.



Reuters