New Delhi, January 2: Bitcoin prices peaked to another high on Saturday, as the rates crossed the landmark $30,000. The surge in rate signals the ongoing momentum of cryptocurrency market, which saw significant investment in second half of year 2020. Analysts foresee a further increase in the virtual currency prices in the weeks to come.

By the time this report was published, a unit of bitcoin was trading at US $30,672.80. In terms of Indian currency, the value is equivalent to Rs 22,41,943. The New Year hike in rates comes less than a week after the Bitcoin price crossed $25,000. Delhi Police Arrests 42 People Running Fake Call Centre & Extorting Money From Foreign Nationals in Bitcoins.

Experts claim that Bitcoin may hit US $143,000-mark by end of 2021, if the current trajectory continues. The constant increase in rates is being attributed to investment from big-ticket players and corporations, rather than laymen or individuals who have been investing in the digital assets over the past seven years.

The sentiment among longtime Bitcoin investors is that the pandemic has brought in an additional number of buyers in the cryptocurrency market. The unpredictability of coronavirus, and the future pathway for global economy still not clear, cryptocurrencies are being considered as a safer option, they claim.

"Every little boost we are seeing since a few months has a very genuine reason behind it and most of the time it is the new funds or corporations deciding to hold a part of their balance sheet in bitcoin," Sathvik Vishwanath, CEO & Co-Founder of cryptocurrency platform Unocoin, said in a statement.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 02, 2021 06:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).