Bitcoin ‘could hit $50,000 this week’ after mammoth Tesla investment

Bitcoin is tipped to hit $50,000 this week following a massive investment in the cryptocurrency by electric car pioneer Tesla.

The Bitcoin cryptocurrency has even found itself into ATMs. Picture: John Devlin

The US motor-maker and battery developer has invested some $1.5 billion (£1.1bn) in Bitcoin and signalled its intention to start accepting the cryptocurrency as a form of payment.

Simon Peters, cryptoasset analyst at multi-asset investment platform eToro, said: “Bitcoin has rocketed to an all-time high off the back of reports of a huge investment in the cryptoasset being made by Tesla, and the move by the world’s largest car manufacturer (by market cap) to start accepting bitcoin as payment for its cars and other products.

“If there were any doubters as to the mainstream acceptance of Bitcoin, this surely must mark the end of any scepticism. Multiple other brands already accept bitcoin as payment, and we would imagine that, in time, other major companies will follow Tesla’s example.

“The world is moving online more and more and Bitcoin sits at the heart of online transactions, and with this kind of endorsement from a multi-billion dollar company, it’s likely the price will hit $50,000 by the end of the week.”

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst for Markets.com, noted: “Rumours have clearly been doing the rounds that (Elon] Musk was in Bitcoin. After the Twitter update on Jan 29, I noted that the move was cheered by the Bitcoin bulls and it indicated support for the crypto in some form, but it was not clear at that stage if he and/or Tesla was buying in size. Now we know not only is Musk on side, but Tesla is backing on a corporate level.”

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