Bitcoin is growing amid the interest of companies, the ether has updated the maximum, Durov has found money for Telegram

The first cryptocurrency continues to update historical highs: on the night of February 18, bitcoin reached a new record of $ 52.6 thousand. Bitcoin's market capitalization is at around $969 billion, with 59.6% market dominance. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies is growing — $1.6 trillion and is approaching the TOP countries in this indicator.

On the trading floors of Nigeria, bitcoin has risen in value to $76,000. According to Google Trends statistics, this country ranks first in terms of user interest in the main cryptocurrency.

Growth continued throughout the week, on February 16, the psychological level of $50,000 was overcome. The rally comes against the backdrop of statements by companies, in particular MicroStrategy, about investing in digital gold. A major software maker plans to raise between $600 million and $900 million to further invest in buying bitcoin.

On February 14, the price of bitcoin set a high of $49,360 amid a Bloomberg report about Morgan Stanley's plans to invest in cryptocurrency.

At the auction on February 18, the second cryptocurrency by capitalization updated its maximum - Ethereum reached a price of $1,900.

Following the example of MicroStrategy, many companies have shown interest in Bitcoin. BlackRock, the world's largest company in terms of assets under management ($8.7 trillion), announced that it is considering digital currency as a protective asset. Financial firm The Motley Fool has announced plans to acquire the leading cryptocurrency for $5 million because they say it is more effective than gold as a store of value.

SynBiotic SE from Germany spoke about the transfer of part of its free liquidity to bitcoin due to fears of devaluation of the dollar and euro.

Against the background of the active growth of bitcoin, the income of miners reached a record amount since 2017 — $354.4 million in a week. The previous record was $340 million. 15% of the profit was received as commissions. At the moment, the reward for one mined block is 0.97 BTC.

XRP temporarily regained its third position in the capitalization rating, but by the end of the week it was in seventh position. The American cryptocurrency exchange PayBito has suspended trading in the XRP token until a court decision on the SEC lawsuit. A pre-trial settlement of the SEC lawsuit against Ripple is unlikely to happen, since all negotiations were conducted under the previous leadership. In January, Gary Gensler took over as head of the Commission, and at the moment, startup lawyers do not see prospects for a pre-trial settlement.

Telegram plans to place $1 billion worth of bonds for a select circle of investors. The securities will not be available to US citizens, and the minimum investment amount is tentatively set at $50 million. The bonds will be issued for five years and promise a return of 7-8% per annum on the amount of debt. If the company goes public in five years, investors will be able to convert bonds into shares at a discount.

On February 15, the founder of Telegram Pavel Durov revealed information about his cryptocurrency investments, announcing the purchase of 2000 BTC for $ 750,000 about four years ago. The further fate of the coins is unknown.