Bitcoin for the first time in history has shattered past the $50,000 mark in its 12 years of existence at 4:16 AM UTC on Binance exchange. The break above $50,000 comes at a time when the entire cryptocurrency market is building momentum. For instance, Ethereum is back to trading above $1,800 while inching closer towards the breakout to $2,000.

Bitcoin Up by More than 60% Since the Start of 2021

Bitcoin’s market cap is now eyeing towards $1 trillion, with its dominance sitting just below 61%. The leading cryptocurrency seems to be moving towards the six-digit price tag.

It took the flagship cryptocurrency only 39 days to touch the $50,000 mark after tapping $40,000 for the first time on Jan. 7. The final touchdown to the major milestone was quite rough since the cryptocurrency had to endure a couple of painful corrections in January.

The accurate prediction of Bitcoin touching $50,000 was called out by Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mike McGlone back in early January.

Bitcoin’s price has more than quadrupled in 2020 and is up more than 60% since the start of 2021. Analysts view that the surge in Bitcoin comes from the increased interest of institutional investors towards the cryptocurrency and the perception as a safe haven asset.

Bitcoin Touching New ATH Following Tesla’s Investment

Bitcoin has been touching new all-time highs almost continuously following Elon Musk’s Tesla announcement of its $1.5 billion purchase on Feb. 8.

In a filing last week, Tesla announced buying $1.5 billion of Bitcoin. The electric car company also announced it would soon accept payments in the flagship cryptocurrency. Tesla’s sudden announcement caused bitcoin price to surge towards $50,000 at the beginning of last week, up from just under $30,000 since the start of 2021.

Following Tesla’s announcement, Mastercard too followed the same suit by announcing it would add support for cryptocurrencies later this year. Similarly, the oldest U.S. bank, BNY Mellon announced on adding support for bitcoin and cryptocurrency and that it would open up its custody services to digital assets.