Bitcoin tops $17,000 for first time in almost three years

By Vildana Hajric and Elena Popina

Bitcoin reached $17,000 for the first time since just after the burst of the cryptocurrency bubble almost three years ago.

The largest digital coin, which has more than doubled this year, rose as much as 2.4% to $17,099 on Tuesday in New York trading. From an all-time high in December 2017 of nearly $20,000, Bitcoin tumbled to as low as $3,136 within a year.

“Bitcoin mania is back,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda. “Bitcoin easily broke past $17,000 and everyone now has their eyes on the $20,000 level, which could trigger some selling.”



Its gains this year follow a wider embrace from Wall Street linchpins, including Fidelity Investments, which launched a Bitcoin fund over the summer. Some prominent money managers also became crypto converts, with macro investor Paul Tudor Jones buying the coin as a hedge against potential inflation. And PayPal Holding Inc. said in October it would allow customers to access cryptocurrencies, which spurred bets more people could start to use digital tokens.

Crypto fans have been watching Bitcoin tick higher all year, with many setting their sights on 2017’s record.

“Bitcoin has consistently been one of the world’s top-performing assets since its creation,” said Mati Greenspan, founder of Quantum Economics. “This latest surge comes as larger players enter the market sapping up what little supply remains for sale.”

While some die-hard crypto fans have stuck with it through its ups and downs, others have become newly enchanted by it amid the pandemic. Investors argue the cryptocurrency can act a safe haven during times of turbulence and can be a hedge against rampant central-bank money printing. Still others have been lured by its spectacular advance this year -- the digital coin is up more than 135% in 2020 though it is still about 12% off its all-time high.

Hugo Rogers, chief investment officer at Deltec Bank & Trust, bought Bitcoin when it traded around $9,300 in June and used any price weakness since then to add it to his portfolio. Bitcoin now makes up about 5% of his Global Absolute Return Fund, which is big on high-growth tech and biotech companies. He’s probably not going to stop at the 5% threshold, he said.

“A small position in Bitcoin can go a long way,” Rogers said by phone earlier this month. “There’s a lack of an alternative in real assets that can show a comparable return. If you’re going to diversify your portfolio anyway, this is a good place to go.”