NEW YORK (AFP) - Bitcoin moved closer to $50,000 for the first time on Tuesday, while the dollar declined as equity traders monitored anticipated US fiscal stimulus and Covid-19 vaccine developments.
Asia's main stock indices closed stronger, with Tokyo hitting a 30-year high, while the Dow Jones index edged down from an all-time high following a mixed session in Europe.
Bitcoin briefly pushed to a record-high of $48,215.83 after winning a huge boost Monday from news that Elon Musk's electric carmaker Tesla had invested $1.5 billion in the cryptocurrency. It later eased back to a level near $47,335.
Bitcoin's value has risen by about 50 percent this year, but skeptics say it is still highly volatile and regulators warn it is vulnerable to illicit use.
Musk, an expert at disrupting corporate norms as well as economic structures, last week briefly changed his Twitter bio to simply read ''#bitcoin.
He also has taken to social media in recent days to promote dogecoin, another digital money that was originally launched as a joke but has suddenly become more valuable.
In a securities filing, Tesla described the bitcoin purchase as an effort to boost company liquidity.