Bitcoin Crosses $ 50,000 As PayPal Offers UK Crypto Products

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A rally in the cryptocurrency market, which started late Sunday, coincided with the launch of PayPal’s cryptocurrency products in the UK. Photo: Jeff Chiu / AP

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) broke above $ 50,000 for the first time since mid-May.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency peaked in three months at $ 50,379 early Monday morning. Bitcoin remained up 2.4% at $ 50,308 by mid-morning in London.

Other major cryptocurrencies rallied as well on Monday morning, with Ethereum (ETH-USD) up 2% to trade at $ 3,328 and Cardano (ADA-USD) by 7% to hit $ 2.04. . The broader cryptocurrency market rose 1.7% in the 24 hours through Monday morning to a market cap of $ 2.14 billion (1.57 billion), according to data provider CoinMarketCap .

The rally, which began late Sunday, coincided with the launch of PayPal’s cryptocurrency products in the UK. PayPal (PYPL) said on Monday it would start allowing UK customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum from this week. It has been offering the service to its American customers since last October.

Bitcoin hit a 3-month high on Monday morning. Photo: Yahoo Finance UK

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Jose Fernandez da Ponte, vice president and general manager of blockchain, crypto and digital currencies at PayPal, said the company wanted to “significantly contribute to shaping the role that digital currencies will play in the future of global finance and trade “.

“The significance of PayPal’s entry into the UK market is its potential to process crypto transactions between consumers and businesses,” said Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell. “This is not a service that will initially be offered in the UK, but it is already operational in the US, where PayPal crypto companies only started last October, so we can expect fairly rapid development on this side of the pond as well. “

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Despite the recent rally, cryptocurrencies remain below all-time highs reached earlier in the year. Bitcoin hit a record high of $ 64,863 before collapsing to less than half the end of July. The initial rally was driven by increased institutional adoption and renewed interest among retail investors.

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“The increased adoption of cryptocurrencies is one of the main reasons for the recent surge in prices,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Avatrade.

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