Bitcoin has once again reached a historic all time price, booming off the back of news that payment provider Mastercard would support cryptocurrency.
At the time of publishing, Bitcoin was trading at a stratospheric $62,500 per coin, the highest ever recorded for the currency.
A year ago, in February 2020, Bitcoin was trading at $15,500 per coin – meaning in twelve month's time it has jumped an eye-watering 303 per cent.
READ MORE: Bitcoin hits all-time historic high
If you purchased $100 of Bitcoin in 2011, that same purchase would now be worth $6.1 million.
Even a $1 purchase in 2011 would be worth in excess of $61,000 today.
Even during the peak "bubble" of Bitcoin in December 2017 - when tech geeks were infamously buying Lamborghinis and mansions - the cryptocurrency only reached a high of around $25,700
READ MORE: Tesla buys $1.9B in Bitcoin, will accept digital currency as payment soon
Mastercard boards the Bitcoin train
Mastercard is bringing bitcoin to the checkout counter.
The company announced late Wednesday that it will support "select cryptocurrencies" directly on its network at some point later this year.
"Our philosophy on cryptocurrencies is straightforward: It's about choice," Raj Dhamodharan, an executive vice president at Mastercard, wrote in a post late Wednesday.
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"Mastercard isn't here to recommend you start using cryptocurrencies. But we are here to enable customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value — traditional or crypto — however they want."
Although Mastercard was short on details about how customers will be able to use bitcoin, the company said it would work something like this: When someone wants to buy an item with cryptocurrency, Mastercard's crypto partners will convert the digital currency into traditional currency and then transmit them over Mastercard's network.
This change "will allow many more merchants to accept crypto" as well as "cut out inefficiencies, letting both consumers and merchants avoid having to convert back and forth between crypto and traditional to make purchases," Mastercard said.
READ MORE: Iran blames bitcoin for string of blackouts in major cities
It's a major milestone for bitcoin, which has slowly been permeating Corporate America after years of skepticism.
On Monday, bitcoin soared to a then-record high above $57,000 after Tesla said it will soon accept bitcoin as payment for its vehicles, and disclosed it had purchased $1.94 billion in bitcoin as part of its cash holdings.
Digital payment giants Square and PayPal recently began allowing users to trade bitcoin.
- Additional reporting by CNN
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