Bitcoin Sets New All-Time High of $49.7K, Putting $50K Within Striking Distance

The price of bitcoin (BTC) rose Sunday morning to a new all-time high of $49,716 after a week of positive developments regarding increased Wall Street acceptance of the leading cryptocurrency.

• Bitcoin hit a new high-water mark of $49,716.44, topping the previous mark of just over $49,000 set this past Thursday. At press time, BTC had pulled back, changing hands at $49,539, up 6.2% over 24 hours and 69% year-to-date.
• While there doesn't seem to be any specific reason for the move this morning, the record comes as traders analysts have described institutional investors’ interest in bitcoin as growing “at a staggering pace.”
• Yesterday, there was further confirmation of that narrative when Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter as saying Morgan Stanley's $150 billion Counterpoint Global investment unit is exploring a stake in the cryptocurrency.
• That news came shortly after it was revealed by CoinDesk that Deutsche Bank is planning to offer crypto custody to hedge funds that invest in the asset class, that Ark Investment Management boosted its exposure to BTC in the fourth quarter, and that BNY Mellon will roll out its own digital custody unit.
• And all of this came days after the biggest news of the year for BTC, that electric carmaker Tesla has invested $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency.
• Other cryptocurrencies are also seeing big rises Sunday. LINK, the native cryptocurrency of oracle provider Chainlink, hit a new record high of $35.73 earlier this morning, while coins such as bitcoin cash, ethereum classic, bitcoin SV and NEO are all posting 24-hour gains of over 20%.