LONDON, March 6 ― Bitcoin hit a record high above US$69,000 (RM326,678) yesterday, buoyed by the world's biggest cryptocurrency becoming more accessible for trading amid tightening supplies.

Bitcoin reached US$69,191.94, beating a record US$68,991 struck in November 2021.

The volatile asset later retreated to US$65,129.

Bitcoin has enjoyed an unbridled rise in the run-up to and since the approval of a new type of investment indexed to the cryptocurrency.

"The leading crypto coin has been on an impressive run higher in recent weeks,” noted James Harte, analyst at traders Tickmill.

"The question now is whether the rally has the legs to sustain.”

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have shown themselves to be extremely volatile, triggering warnings directed at small investors by regulators and central banks.

At its current price, bitcoin has soared more than 50 per cent since January, when it stood at about US$43,000.

However it slumped to US$15,000 in November 2022 following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.

Its boss Sam Bankman-Fried faces up to 110 years in prison for what prosecutors described as "one of the biggest financial frauds in American history”.

Elsewhere, Changpeng "CZ” Zhao in November stepped down as CEO of Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange, after he and the company pleaded guilty to sweeping money laundering violations.

Despite the scandals, bitcoin is gaining wider popularity.

Growing demand

Since their approval on January 10 by US securities regulators, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) indexed to bitcoin have theoretically enabled a wider public to invest in the cryptocurrency without having to hold it directly.

The funds themselves, however, do invest in the digital currency.

The expected approval of the new investment product had contributed in recent months to a rise in its price, which had slumped throughout most of 2022 following the bankruptcy of several crypto giants.

The industry sees the entrance of ETFs on the US market as proof of the growing interest from institutional investors in cryptocurrencies, further boosting enthusiasm for bitcoin.

The digital unit is created ― or "mined” ― as a reward when powerful computers solve complex problems to validate transactions made on the blockchain.

Another forthcoming event is also supporting bitcoin prices.

"Halving” is a technical phenomenon in which the reward given to bitcoin "miners” ― those who contribute to the creation of the blockchain by validating transactions ― is divided in two.

The event takes place every 210,000 blocks, or groups of transactions verified and incorporated on the blockchain, which corresponds to about every four years. The next halving is set for April.

The digital currency has a finite number of units. Bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto has limited the maximum number of bitcoins to 21 million.

An ongoing court case in London is meanwhile seeking to determine whether Australian computer scientist Craig Wright invented bitcoin.

Wright says he is Nakamoto, author of a white paper that introduced the cryptocurrency to the world in 2008.

Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a non-profit organisation set up to keep cryptocurrency technology free from patents, is suing Wright over the claims he first made in 2016. ― AFP