Bitcoin rose above $50,000 on Tuesday to a new record high, building on a rally fuelled by signs that the world's biggest cryptocurrency is gaining acceptance among mainstream investors.
Bitcoin hit a new high of $50,602, and was last up 3.3% at $49,537. It has risen around 72% so far this year, with most of the gains coming after electric carmaker Tesla said it had bought $1.5 billion in bitcoin.
It also said it would accept the currency as payment.