Bitcoin rose 4 percent to $49,477.75 on Monday, the highest since December 2021.
Discover the latest update on Bitcoin Rises to Highest Level in Over Two Years.
The cryptocurrency is up about 15.7 percent so far this year, helped by regulators approving U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs and expectations of lower interest rates.
At 1535 GMT, bitcoin was up 3.9 percent on the day at $49,390.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a virtual money developed using computer code.
It is not backed by a government and lacks a central bank, in opposition to real-world currencies like the US dollar or the euro.
Rather, Bitcoin is governed and controlled by its user base.
Its supporters claim that because it is not governed by a state that might decrease its currency to increase exports, for example, it is a viable substitute for traditional currencies.
Bitcoins can be exchanged for products and services or other currencies, just like other currencies, as long as the other party is ready to accept them.
WHERE IS IT SOURCED?
Back in 2009, a person going by the Japanese-sounding moniker Satoshi Nakamoto wrote some encrypted software, which gave rise to cryptocurrency.
There have been doubts raised about the creation of Bitcoin by reclusive Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright’s claim last year.
Bitcoin is the most widely used digital currency, and more and more businesses are starting to accept it as payment.
Hundreds of other digital currencies have since been introduced.
Over a computer network, a transaction takes place when highly encrypted codes are sent. The overall goal of the network’s monitoring and verification process is to make sure that no single Bitcoin is being spent simultaneously in several locations.
By putting their computers through a challenging and complex process, users can “mine” bitcoins, or produce new ones.
Only 21 million copies of the model will be produced, though.