Bitcoin, the world`s best-known cryptocurrency, surpassed the 20 million won ($18,000) mark Wednesday for the first time in nearly three years, driven by high expectations of future price appreciation after major countries joined to release ideas to utilize virtual assets.

Bitcoin was trading at 19,630,000 won as of 3:00 pm on Wednesday, up 4.69 percent from the previous session after briefly hitting 20,300,000 won at 1:00 pm, according to local cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb. It was the first time that the local price of bitcoin surpassed the 20 million won mark since Jan. 14, 2018. The bitcoin price has surged more than 140 percent so far this year. The price nearly quadrupled from this year’s low of 5,400,000 won.

Bitcoin extended rally on Thursday. It was trading up 1.88 percent at 19,914,000 won as of 11:59 a.m. on Thursday.

Demand for bitcoin revived sharply in October when U.S. online payment giant PayPal decided to allow its customers to use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

The strong rally is also driven as investors viewed the virtual currency as a relatively safe asset amid the Covid-19 pandemic, industry watchers said.

By Han Sang-heon and Minu Kim

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