Bitcoin hits a peak, Fed officials: It will not threaten the US dollar

Bitcoin price rose 5% yesterday. (AP Photo)

Virtual currencies continue to be hyped. After reaching the $50,000 mark, the "big brother" Bitcoin continued to rise. On Wednesday, it reached a high of $51,734, setting a new record.

As the value of the currency soared, some companies simply issued bonds to buy more. However, according to the past performance of the financial market, this situation may be a precursor to a burst. Federal Reserve officials stressed that the market's increased interest in Bitcoin will not threaten the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency. Hong Kong concept stocks speculated on Huobi and soared 27%. According to the data of the trading platform CryptoCompare, Bitcoin rose 5% yesterday, driving the total market value to US$959.1 billion. It has risen by more than 70% this year. Some strategists believe that it will continue to fluctuate around US$50,000 in the short term. Bitcoin concept stocks listed in Hong Kong continued to rise sharply. Huobi Technology (01611) closed up 27.11% at 24 yuan; OKEx (01499) soared 25% to 0.75 yuan; Xiong'an Technology (01647) rose 10% to 0.77 yuan. Friends plan to issue $600 million in bonds to buy Bitcoin. One of the main reasons for the surge in Bitcoin this time is that it is highly sought after by large institutions. According to foreign media reports, Bitcoin friend and enterprise software company MicroStrategy plans to issue another $600 million (about HK$4.68 billion) in convertible bonds to increase its holdings after issuing $650 million in bonds to buy Bitcoin in December last year. The company already owns nearly 72,000 Bitcoins, worth about $3.6 billion, and has led to a 5.8-fold surge in its stock price over the past year. Although virtual currencies are often accused of threatening the status of traditional currencies, Brad, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said that competition between currencies is nothing new. He believes that whether the price of Bitcoin rises or falls, it will not affect the situation where the US dollar dominates the global economy. "I believe people will not want to use non-unified currencies as a means of payment." He also cited the example that the euro and the yen are both strong currencies, but neither can replace the US dollar.