Bitcoin surpasses $ 50,000 in three months as PayPal expands crypto services

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Bitcoin surged above $ 50,000 on Monday morning as PayPal announced it would expand its cryptocurrency services beyond the United States, marking the highest price for digital currencies since May as the market cryptocurrency is making a comeback after a devastating $ 1,000 billion crash three months ago.

The PayPal logo displayed on a smartphone.

SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images Highlights

The price of bitcoin jumped more than 4% overnight to a high of around $ 50,421 on Monday morning.

Its the highest bitcoin price since mid-May, when a wave of environmental concerns and regulatory crackdowns precipitated a market collapse of more than $ 1,000 billion.

The boost comes amid a wider rally in the crypto market, which once again includes the $ 2 trillion threshold and meteoric growth for Cardanos ada, now the third most valuable cryptocurrency to the world and an announcement that PayPal will allow UK users to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency this week.

This is the first time that the digital payments giant will open crypto services to non-U.S. Customers, and it’s a solid sign of growing institutional acceptance that could push cryptocurrencies into mainstream use.

PayPal will support four different cryptocurrencies bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, and bitcoin cash with fintech startup Paxos.

Key context

Bitcoin makes up almost half (around 44%) of the global crypto market and is worth nearly $ 1,000 billion. Its high carbon footprint, due to an energy-intensive mining process that typically uses less-than-clean energy sources like coal, has raised concerns about its long-term viability as a digital currency. Its value fell in May when billionaire Elon Musk, a longtime supporter of cryptocurrencies, said Tesla would no longer accept it as a form of payment, citing energy concerns. The change in sentiment has been a big step backwards for the general acceptance of cryptocurrencies, especially following wider institutional acceptance by payment services PayPal and Venmo.

Further reading

Cardanos Ada hits new high, becoming largest cryptocurrency to hit record price after $ 1 trillion crash (Forbes)

Crypto Market Crosses $ 2 Trillion Again As Altcoins Join Bitcoin In Post-Crash Rally (Forbes)

PayPal Finally Welcomes Cryptocurrencies, Including Bitcoin, Ethereum (Forbes)

Venmo is the latest payment app to adopt cryptocurrency (Forbes)

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