Bitcoin keeps climbing to new highs

Bloomberg and Victor Zhong

The price of Bitcoin has reached another record high, going ever closer to US$50,000 (HK$390,000) as the world's largest cryptocurrency extends its breathtaking rally.

The token climbed as much as 3.6 percent to US$49,913 in Asian trading yesterday, according to a composite of prices compiled by Bloomberg.

In the Hong Kong stock market, Huobi Technology (1611) rose by over 37 percent to HK$18.8 in line with the rally in the cryptocurrency.

But Bitcoin's volatile, fivefold advance over the past year towers above the returns from more traditional investments like stocks, gold and commodities.

Its ascent has been buoyed by increasing adoption of the cryptocurrency, most notably Tesla's disclosure this month of a US$1.5-billion purchase.

Yet a debate continues about whether the token has any intrinsic value at all, amid warnings that investors could be left with big losses because cryptocurrencies remain highly speculative.

"Bitcoin volatility is likely to continue rising in the near term and remain elevated until it settles in around its next plateau," said Mike McGlone, a commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, who added that US$100,000 may be a longer-term target.

A flurry of recent announcements indicates that Bitcoin is winning more mainstream attention after Tesla's purchase catapulted cryptocurrencies to the agenda of corporate treasurers worldwide.

For instance, an investment unit of Morgan Stanley is said to be considering whether to bet on Bitcoin. And in Canada, officials approved the first North American Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

BNY Mellon has said it has formed a team that is developing a custody and administration platform for traditional and digital assets. Mastercard also plans to allow cardholders to transact in certain cryptocurrencies.