Bitcoin hit another all-time peak on Tuesday, two days after the launch of the first ever bitcoin futures on a US exchange and ahead of the start of another futures contract next week, as investors grew optimistic that the $20,000 (Sh. 2 million) -mark is within reach.
On Sunday, Chicago-based derivatives exchange Cboe Global Markets launched bitcoin futures, enabling investors to get exposure to the currency via a large, regulated exchange.
The CME Group is expected to launch its futures contract on Dec 17.
“We’re going to see bitcoin emerge as a payment network,” said Trevor Koverko, chief executive officer of Polymath, a securities token platform.
“Currently bitcoin is being used as a speculative asset and store of value. But as scaling solutions…emerge, bitcoin’s utility dramatically increases along with its price,” Koverko said.
Bitcoin, the world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, was quoted at $17,310 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, up 5.1 per cent on the day.
Earlier on Tuesday bitcoin hit a record high of $17,428.42, registering a roughly 20-fold increase in its price for the year as it drew in millions of new investors.
