OREANDA-NEWS. The cost of bitcoin continues to grow: last week, the cryptocurrency broke through the mark of 50 thousand dollars, and as of Monday morning, February 22, it's rate was already about 54 thousand. The market capitalization of bitcoin has exceeded $1 trillion. The cryptocurrency is becoming more expensive after several large companies announced, that they will start using it as a means of payment.

Last week, Elon Musk announced, that the electric car manufacturer Tesla, which he created, bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoins and will start accepting this cryptocurrency to pay for their cars in the future. «Mastercard» also plans to allow it's cardholders to operate in some cryptocurrencies, and the world's largest asset management company «Black Rock», is exploring possible ways to work with bitcoin.

The Covid-19 pandemic also contributed to the rise in the value of the cryptocurrency, as during the quarantine, people mostly made purchases online, disposing of cash transactions.

But some experts believe, that bitcoin is a tool for market speculation, but not a real currency. Nouriel Roubini, a well-known economist and critic of cryptocurrencies, warns that bitcoin has no obvious practical application, and it cannot be considered as a reliable investment.