X

Bitcoin tops $20K for the first time

The cryptocurrency has hit a record high.

Corinne Reichert Senior Editor
Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.
Expertise News, mobile, broadband, 5G, home tech, streaming services, entertainment, AI, policy, business, politics Credentials
  • I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
Corinne Reichert
bitcoin-logo-phone-5938

Bitcoin has topped $20,000.

Angela Lang/CNET

Bitcoin continues its meteoric rise, for the first time ever hitting a price of more than $20,000. As of Dec. 16 at 12 p.m. PT, the cryptocurrency clocked in at a value of $20,842.90, as reported earlier Wednesday by CoinDesk.

Its previous high came on Nov. 30 when it reached a price of $19,850. Bitcoin has been slowly rising throughout 2020, following its infamous crash down to around $3,000 in 2018. It had almost reached $20,000 in December 2017.

Payments provider Square, founded by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, announced in October that it had invested $50 million in Bitcoin. "We believe that Bitcoin has the potential to be a more ubiquitous currency in the future," said Amrita Ahuja, Square's chief financial officer. 

PayPal will also begin allowing Bitcoin and fellow cryptocurrency Ethereum to be bought, sold and held on its platform from 2021.

See also: Best cash-back credit cards for December 2020