TheCable

Bitcoin has jumped to a record high above $44,000 per coin after Tesla, an electric carmaker, invested $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency.

The digital currency hit $44,795.20 around 1325 GMT, before reducing to $44,207.95.

Recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had issued a directive to banks to close accounts of persons or entities involved in cryptocurrency transactions.

The apex bank also said virtual currencies such as bitcoin, litecoin, and others are issued by unlicensed and unregulated entities, the patrons and users value “anonymity, obscurity, and concealment” and there are risks of “loss of investments, money laundering, terrorism financing, illicit fund flows and criminal activities”.

Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, disclosed the bitcoin holding in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday. 

It said it had “updated our investment policy to provide us with more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns” to allow it to invest cash reserve in “alternative reserve assets including digital assets”.

“Moreover, 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, ” Tesla added.

Earlier this month, Musk had changed his Twitter biography to “#bitcoin”.