Bitcoin is no longer the novel, backwater investment that only champions of cryptocurrencies can love. It is fast becoming a favored alternative investment among some very well-known traditional investors as well as the focus of new or extended custody relationships for institutional investors and the key holding in a couple of investment trusts. The growing demand for Bitcoin as an asset class, albeit an alternative asset class for a small percentage of a portfolio's assets, sent its price to a record high, topping $23,000 in mid-December. Past Bitcoin rallies have faded, but the broadening market for the digital currency could potentially reduce future volatility. The same week Bitcoin climbed to a new record high, Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced it had filed a draft registration statement with the SEC for an initial public offering. Bitcoin has not moved into the mainstream but it, along with other, less popular cryptocurrencies, is increasingly getting more attention from conventional financial institutions and major individual investors. Check out the slideshow above for key developments in their evolution this year. --- Related on ThinkAdvisor:
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