Bitcoin hits new all-time high of $57k – should you invest?

Bitcoin hits new all-time high of $57k – should you invest?

Bitcoin has jumped 20pc over the past week to a record $57,000 per coin as large companies such as Tesla, Mastercard and JP Morgan begin to embrace the digital currency.

Tesla, the electric car giant run by Elon Musk, announced it had invested $1.5bn (£1.1bn) in the cryptocurrency to diversify its balance sheet by investing in “alternative” assets and said it would begin to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment for its products in the near future.

A growing number of professional investors argue that Bitcoin, the oldest cryptocurrency and the largest by market value, deserves a place in a diversified portfolio.

Sceptics counter that Bitcoin has no intrinsic value as few people use it to buy things, it is unproven as a “safe haven” asset and faces the threat of legal clampdowns that could make it worthless.

So should you buy some? And is it ever safe to do so?

‘Bitcoin is gambling'

Investors should steer clear, according to Felix Milton of Philip J Milton, a financial planning firm, because governments could intervene at any moment and outlaw it as a currency, making it illegal to own. “At the moment it's allowed to operate but that may not last forever,” he said. “I would strongly advise against investing unless