Bitcoin surges to break through $49,000; Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, buys $500 million worth of cryptocurrency

Executives of Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, announced late Thursday (August 19) that it would purchase $500 million in cryptocurrencies on its balance sheet and allocate 10% of its quarterly profits to its crypto asset portfolio.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong first revealed the plan in an earlier tweet, saying the company's investment share in cryptocurrencies will increase as the market matures. Armstrong's tweet shows Coinbase's ambition to diversify its operations in cryptocurrencies.

(Source: CNBC)

“Hopefully over time we can do more business in crypto,” Armstrong said on Twitter. “In the future we’ll be taking 10% of the company’s profits.”
Bitcoin prices climbed after the news, approaching $49,000 on Friday morning (August 20). Coinbase shares also rose more than 3% on Friday morning (August 20).
A handful of companies that have included Bitcoin in their holdings, such as independent business intelligence provider Microstrategy and Tesla, aim to hedge against inflation and a potential devaluation of the dollar.
Coinbase has shown great patience with the volatility of Bitcoin prices and is optimistic about its plans to promote long-term innovation throughout the financial system. Alesia Haas, the company's chief financial officer, said Coinbase is making a long-term investment in cryptocurrencies.
Owen Lau of New York-based financial services firm Oppenheimer said he sees this as a signal that Coinbase is further promoting and influencing retail institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies by integrating them into its own operations, such as paying suppliers and using them to pay employees’ salaries.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Coinbase has reserved $4 billion in cash to cope with regulatory resistance. (FX168)