RE: U.K. news papers14 Jan 2021 06:55
Bitcoin owners had an extra reason to celebrate the new year as the price of the cryptocurrency pushed through $30,000 (£22,000) to record highs after a 50pc jump in December alone.
Some investors took this as a cue to take profits and turn their paper gains into hard cash ready for use in the real economy, even as the price soared past $35,000.
One crypto winner is William Mann, a 36-year-old farmer from Gloucestershire. He has bought £50,000 worth of Bitcoin over the past three years and is now sitting on a £150,000 pile of “digital gold”.
“My first purchase was in 2017 when it traded at around $1,000 per coin. I was speculating on what I thought was an interesting idea. I did not think that it would realistically replace ‘fiat’ [paper] currencies or gold as a safe haven. It was just a bit of fun,” he said.
“But as I began reading more about it and investing more I picked up a greater appreciation for its qualities over government-backed currencies. However, it was only really speculation.”
Mr Mann’s latest purchase was last autumn at around $10,000 per coin. His timing was inspired, or fortunate, as the price has tripled since then.