Bitcoin’s price roared back Wednesday after a sharp selloff Tues, climbing above $50,000 again as Square announced it had purchased $170 million worth of the cryptocurrency.
Shortly before equity markets opened Wednesday in North America, the world’s most valuable digital coin surged 7% to a price of $50,441 U.S., according to data from Coin Metrics. The cryptocurrency climbed as high as $51,369 some hours earlier.
Other cryptocurrencies also got a boost, with ether gaining 10%, and XRP climbing 4.8%. So-called altcoins, or alternative cryptocurrencies, often climb in times of strength for bitcoin.
On Tuesday, Square announced it had bought 3,318 bitcoins at an average price of around $51,235. The fintech company, which is run by Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) CEO Jack Dorsey, said bitcoin now represents about 5% of its total assets.
It’s not the first time Square has invested in bitcoin — the firm bought $50 million worth of the digital currency last year. Dorsey is one of bitcoin’s most well-known proponents, having once said he believes it will eventually become the "single currency" of the internet.
Bitcoin had a rough start to the week, slumping from a record high of $58,356 Sunday to as low as $45,501 on Tuesday. It’s not unusual for bitcoin to undergo wild bouts of volatility — the digital token infamously climbed to nearly $20,000 in 2017 before entering a bear market the following year.
Bitcoin is still up more than 70% year-to-date and over 400% in the last 12 months. The crypto asset’s stunning rally has garnered the attention of everyone from Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
