Bitcoin passes $60,000 for first time, as entire market now worth $1.015 trillion

Bitcoin briefly rose above $60,000 for the first time on Saturday, as the world’s most popular virtual currency continued its record-breaking run.

The cryptocurrency hit an all-time high of $60,012 at 1149 GMT before dipping back down below the $60,000 mark, according to the website CoinMarketCap.

Meanwhile, the total value of all bitcoin topped $1.0 trillion last month, capping a spectacular record-breaking week for the world’s most popular cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin zoomed to its latest all-time pinnacle at $55.155 after a string of corporate giants embraced the digital unit.

With more than 18.6 million bitcoins created since the digital currency was launched in 2009, the entire market is now worth $1.015 trillion, according to data provider Coinmarketcap.com.

“This is certainly big news for the industry and this would not have been possible without the involvement of smart money,” said AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam.

“The reason that one trillion dollar market cap is significant because not many believed that bitcoin can achieve this. Now, we have a real number which is massive in size and we are going to get more investors joining this rally,” he added.

Bitcoin has set a blistering record pace, blasting past $60,000, a week after Tesla revealed it had invested $1.5 billion in the unit.

Investors and Wall Street finance giants have been wooed by dizzying growth, the opportunity for profit and asset diversification, and a safe store of value to guard against inflation.