(Reuters) – Bitcoin, the world’s first most popular cryptocurrency, has burned to record highs while gaining legitimacy as an asset.
Many of these benefits were prompted by interest from major U.S. institutions.
Here are some steps from big companies, big investors, banks and payment processors that have moved bitcoin closer to the mainstream in recent months:
RESEARCH
May 2020:
* Fund manager Paul Tudor Jones makes the case for bitcoin as a source of value.
August 2020:
* Business software company led by Michael Saylor MicroStrategy announces the purchase of 21,454 bitcoins for $ 250 million, the first of several investments in the cryptocurrency.
November 2020:
* Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller and BlackRock-based revenue chief Rick Rieder will bring positive public opinion about bitcoin as an alternative to gold.
January 2021:
* Investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co says bitcoin could hit $ 146,000 if it becomes a safe haven.
* Weekly inflows hit crypto assets with a record high of $ 1.3 billion and new peak investment scales of $ 34.4 billion, according to CoinShares fund manager.
February 2021:
* Tesla Inc. Carmaker announces it bought $ 1.5 billion in bitcoin and says it will soon accept the cryptocurrency as payment for its vehicles.
* Bitcoin owners now include 169-year-old insurer MassMutual, asset manager of Galaxy Digital Holdings, Square payment company CEO Jack Dorsey, Canadian software company Snapper and Marathon and Argo dog miners.
ACHDAN
July 2020:
* U.S. banking regulator Office of the Currency Regulator says national banks and federal savings societies can provide cryptocurrency holding services
October 2020:
* The PayPal payment processor allows bitcoin customers to hold in their digital wallets and use it to make purchases at the 26 million buyers on their network.
February 2021:
* Mastercard reveals plans to support cryptocurrency payments across its network.
* BNY Mellon is announcing a new unit aimed at helping clients trade and own cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
* Toronto-based asset manager Purpose Investments is launching the world’s first bitcoin trading fund.
* The parent company of Japan’s largest online hacker, SBI, says it is planning a crypto joint venture with foreign financial companies.
Reciting with Tom Westbrook; Edited by Vidya Ranganathan and Sriraj Kalluvila