Tesla's Bet On Bitcoin Sends The Cryptocurrency Closer To $50,000

On Tuesday, Bitcoin skyrocketed to a new peak of $48,216 as Tesla's interest in the cryptocurrency continues to fuel its demand, pushing it closer to the $50,000 level.

On Monday, a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission showed that Tesla bought bitcoins worth $1.5 billion in January 2021 after the company updated its investment policy to invest in digital assets.

"We updated our investment policy to provide us with more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on our cash that is not required to maintain adequate operating liquidity," the document filed by Tesla showed.

The company also said that it will start accepting Bitcoin as payment for its product and services in the future, a significant move towards accepting cryptocurrency for retail purchases.

"We expect to begin accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future, subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis, which we may or may not liquidate upon receipt," the company said in its filing.

The statement comes days after Tesla co-founder Elon Musk displayed a symbol of Bitcoin on his social media and has also been recently tweeting memes of another alternative cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Anurag Thakur, the Minister of State for Finance, informed the Rajya Sabha that the government is finalising the contours of a new Bill (The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021) to ban cryptocurrency trading, mining and investments in the country, and will introduce the same in Parliament soon.