Yahoo Finance Bitcoin price slides after last week's rally pushed token to record highs
Bitcoin's (BTC-USD) ascent to record highs came to a halt on Sunday as the cryptocurrency's price fell more than 6% to $56,306 (£40,596). It made several attempts to soar past the all-time high price, peaking at $59,400 on Saturday.
It comes after, the cryptocurrency climbed more than 5% last week to a high of $60,322.60, according to Coindesk, continuing a stellar rally this year. The move passed the previous all-time record of around $58,330 set on 21 February.
So far, Bitcoin has surged more than 65% last month alone, and over 100% this year.
In late February, it saw a retreat to as low as $43,000 amid uncertainty in the traditional markets over stimulus expectations and their positive effects on US bond yields.
Analysts have said that they expect "higher volatility in the stock market" in the coming weeks after US president Joe Biden signed a long-awaited $1.9trn COVID relief package, which gives individual American's their third stimulus checks worth $1,400. This is expected to bolstered optimism in financial markets.
The market value of all bitcoin in circulation hit $1tn for the first time last month, data website CoinMarketCap revealed.
READ MORE: Bitcoin soars to fresh record high of $60,0000
The cryptocurrency has been fuelled of late by acceptance from mainstream investors and companies, such as Tesla (TSLA) and Mastercard (MA).
Tesla invested $1.5bn in bitcoin, in February, and said it may even start accepting it as payment for its products.
In December, it soared past Visa (V) making it the world’s largest financial service.
Bitcoin started 2020 at about $7,000 per coin. Despite its rise in the last year, the cryptocurrency remains extremely volatile and experts continue to remain sceptical about using it as an investment.
According to industry data, about 13% of all bitcoin in the world, some $80bn out of $600bn, belongs to just over 100 individual accounts, the Telegraph reported. The top 40% of all bitcoin, roughly $240bn, is held by just under 2,500 known accounts out of roughly 100 million overall.
Bitcoin started 2020 at around $7,000 per coin. Despite its rise in the last year, the cryptocurrency remains extremely volatile and experts continue to remain sceptical about using it as an investment.
However, a survey published last month showed almost two-thirds of UK investors intend to buy bitcoin in 2021.
According to a Trading Platforms report, the number of Bitcoin ATMs around the world increased by 70% in the last six months, hitting 16,500 in March. A bitcoin ATM is a kiosk that allows a person to purchase bitcoin by using cash or debit card. Some offer both the purchase of bitcoin as well as the sale of bitcoin for cash.
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