Bitcoin hits $50,000 for 1st time in more than 2 years

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Bitcoin saw its price hitting $50,000 on Monday for the first time in more than two years.

The price of Bitcoin rose to as high as $50,280 during the day, while it was up for a daily gain of 4.5% near $50,200 at 3.58 p.m. EDT -- its highest level since December 2021.

Bitcoin saw its value increase more than 18% in the past seven days, according to data from CoinMarketCap, a digital asset price-tracking website.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency almost touched the $49,000 level on Jan. 11 – the day when the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot Bitcoin ETFs. The move allowed investors, especially financial institutions, to trade Bitcoin without owning it.

Ethereum, the world's biggest altcoin by market cap, was up 5.6% to $2,640 at the same time, while some altcoins saw their prices rising as much as 17%.

The recent rally also pushed Bitcoin's market value closer to the $1 trillion mark, a feat that was last seen in November 2021.

The total value of the cryptocurrency market was up 3.85% at $1.87 trillion, while Bitcoin's share of the crypto market, known as dominance, was at 52.6%, according to CoinMarketCap data.