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Bitcoin's Value Tops $100,000 for the First Time

The cryptocurrency has risen after its inclusion in investment funds and following the results of November's presidential election.

Headshot of Omar Gallaga
Headshot of Omar Gallaga
Omar Gallaga
Omar Gallaga
2 min read
Bitcoin

Cryptocurrencies have risen from the ashes of multiple crashes.

 Namthip Muanthongthae/Getty Images

Nearly 16 years since it first became available, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin hit its biggest pricing milestone yet: As of Wednesday, one Bitcoin was worth $100,000.

The price surge came on the same day that president-elect Donald Trump appointed Paul Atkins, a supporter of cryptocurrencies, as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. In that role, Atkins is expected to loosen regulations on crypto-related businesses. After eschewing Bitcoin in previous years as what he called a "scam," Trump has been pro-cryptocurrency more recently, saying that the United States will be the "crypto capital of the world." 

Like many other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is a digital type of money that's transferred from Bitcoin wallet to Bitcoin wallet through transactions that use blockchain technology. The transactions are kept track of in a public ledger and the currency involves energy-intensive "mining" with computers performing complex computations. There's only a finite amount of Bitcoin and as of today, there are nearly 20 million Bitcoins mined and more than 1 million left to mine. 

Bitcoin hit a record high earlier this year, and this recent surge is a far cry from where the digital currency was just a few years ago. For most of 2022 and early 2023, it was priced below $20,000, significantly below 2021's spikes of up to around $65,000. The volatile currency also crashed going into the summer of 2021, losing about half its value after a rise in 2020 from just over $5,000 to more than $60,000 in early 2021.

Since the election in early November, Bitcoin has surged from below $70,000 to topping $100,000 a month later. As of Thursday morning, it was priced at above $103,000. The overall crypto economy has also risen, with other coins such as Ethereum and Solana also reaching peaks in November and December.