Bitcoin tops the $60,000 mark

That sparked speculation that other big companies may soon add bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies to their balance sheets, since bitcoin is generating a significantly higher return than bonds and cash. Software firm MicroStrategy (MSTR) has been actively buying bitcoin.

Top financial firms are helping to validate bitcoin. Payments giants Square (SQ) and PayPal (PYPL) let their users buy and sell it. Credit card processing behemoths Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) are also embracing cryptocurrencies.

Investors have been flocking to bitcoin because of the perception that it could be a good hedge against inflation and a weaker dollar if bond yields continue to rise.

Inflation fears have returned now that President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion stimulus package. There are concerns about whether that much money is really needed.

Some worry that stimulus may cause the economy to overheat and lead to much higher inflation. After all, there are now multiple Covid-19 vaccines and more people are returning to work, which should boost the economy — and bitcoin prices.

Bitcoin has benefited from investors’ recognition that the cryptocurrency is scarcer than gold or other precious metals.

That’s because there is a cap of just 21 million bitcoins built into the cryptocurrency’s source code available to be mined — the process of using computers or servers to solve complex math problems to generate bitcoin. Roughly 18.6 million bitcoins are in circulation.

Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency getting a boost. Smaller digital currencies such as ethereum, litecoin and stellar have soared in 2021.