The focus today is on the most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin, which for the first time in history has exceeded the $47,000 mark for a virtual coin. In the morning, around 02:00 EST, the cost of bitcoin was $47,900. According to CoinDesk, the index has gained almost 7% since the close of the previous trading. And on the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, the value of bitcoin rose above $48,000. According to CoinGecko, the market capitalization of the digital asset rose above $892 billion, and the daily trading volume was approximately $100 billion. Today, during the first half of the day, the price of bitcoin has slightly adjusted and at the time of preparing this review, it was already $46,294

The reason behind this is the American electric car manufacturer Tesla, whose management a day earlier informed the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about significant investments in the most popular digital currency amounting to $1.5 billion. Moreover, the company announced that it will soon start accepting cryptocurrency as a way to pay for their cars and any other products they produce.

Upon the release of this information, the value of Tesla shares, like the value of bitcoin, jumped noticeably by 11%, reaching $863 per unit. The capitalization of the electric car maker has skyrocketed by billions of dollars in just one piece of news about a change in investment policy. Tesla's management explains its decision by the fact that it intends to further diversify and increase the profitability of cash, which is not involved in supporting the necessary operational liquidity. Many companies use this practice and periodically try to diversify their cash holdings, especially if they operate in different countries.

But bitcoin is still something new, non-state, and extremely volatile. Also, this digital currency is subject to cyber-attacks and possible government regulation. To date, this asset is used mainly as an investment product and is not yet considered as a form of payment. Some popular brands allow their customers to pay with bitcoins through third-party payment systems that convert digital money into familiar currency assets. Tesla, apparently, plans to eliminate intermediaries and invent its own payment system that will accept bitcoins and convert payments into cash at the request of management. But the strong volatility of bitcoin prevents its mass use. Therefore, the statements of the Tesla management that it will be possible to pay for goods with bitcoin soon should be perceived as nothing more than just beautiful phrases.

Meanwhile, some analysts believe that under the influence of news about Tesla's new investment policy, the bitcoin rate may well rise to $70,000 in a few days.