At $44k, Bitcoin breaches record levels after Tesla invested $1.5-billion

New Delhi:  Bitcoin surged to an all-time high after Tesla Inc said it had invested $1.5 billion in the most popular cryptocurreny last month.

Bitcoin hit $44,795.20 around 1325 GMT, before cooling slightly to $44,207.95, according to AFP.

The cryptocurrency is up by around 50 percent since the start of the year.

The news sent Bitcoin soaring as high as $44,000 and Ethereum surges 7%. The electric carmaker unveiled the investment ten days after its chief executive Elon Musk added a “#bitcoin” tag on his Twitter profile page, which drove bitcoin higher on the day.

Tesla said in a filing the decision was part of its broad investment policy as a company and was aimed at diversifying and maximizing its returns on cash. Tesla also said it would begin accepting the digital token as a form of payment for its electric cars.

“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,” the company said in its filing.

Musk had also recently tweeted memes of another alternative cryptocurrency Dogecoin.