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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2021)
BUSINESS & AG 2B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021 Cost of a single Bitcoin exceeds $50,000 for fi rst time By MATT OTT Associated Press SILVER SPRING, Md. — The seemingly unstop- pable rise of Bitcoin con- tinued Tuesday, Feb. 16, with the cost of a single unit of the digital currency rising above $50,000 for the fi rst time. The same Bitcoin just one year ago would have cost you $10,000. The price is up almost 200% in the last three months alone. It rose sharply early Tuesday and while giving up some of those gains, continues to climb. Bitcoin has rallied as more companies signal the volatile digital cur- rency could eventually gain widespread acceptance as a means of payment. The vast majority of those who have acquired Bitcoin have treated it as a commodity, like gold, with few places accepting it in exchange for goods or services. Companies have been leery because of Bitcoin’s volatility and its use by par- ties who want to avoid the traditional banking system for a myriad of reasons. On Tuesday, the price crossed and recrossed the $50,000 barrier at least a half dozen times. On Feb. 8, however, the electric car company Tesla sent a tremor through the FRIENDS Continued from Page 1B year,” she said, adding gov- ernment aid has helped. “We’ve defi nitely taken advantage of all the oppor- tunities to get a little bit of help.” Still, Friends has man- aged to thrive amid the pandemic. “It defi nitely affected us, but we had a pretty good year and we were able to open back up in May,” she said of the fi rst shut- down. “We had really great Charles Krupa/Associated Press The Bitcoin logo appears on the display screen of a crypto currency ATM at the Smoker’s Choice store, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, in Salem, New Hampshire. After a wild week in which Bitcoin soared to new heights, Bitcoin is crossing the $50,000 mark. digital currency markets, saying it was buying $1.5 billion in Bitcoin as part of a new investment strategy, and that it would soon be accepting Bitcoin in exchange for its cars. Then Blue Ridge Bank of Charlottesville, Virginia, said it would become the fi rst commercial bank to provide access to Bitcoin at its branches. The regional bank said Feb. 10 that card- holders can purchase and redeem Bitcoin at 19 of its ATMs. BNY Mellon, the oldest bank in the U.S., followed a day later, saying it would include digital currencies in the services it provides numbers for a while so I imagine we would’ve had a really great year if we hadn’t had to be shut down for a few months.” Gladden said she thinks her patrons’ eagerness to get out of the house helps. “After the second freeze we had in November, I think a lot of people are just tired of not being able to go out if they want,” she said. “So now, when places are open, I feel like more people are ready to go out because you never know when it’s going to get shut down again.” to clients. Mastercard said it would start supporting “select crypto currencies” on its network. While most expect a slow evolution toward widespread usage of bit- coins as currency, Richard Lyons, a fi nance professor at the University of Cali- fornia at Berkeley, said it’s inevitable. Lyons predicted Bitcoin and other digital currencies “will become transactional currencies increasingly over the next fi ve years. It’s not going to happen overnight,” he said. Lee Reiners, who teaches fi ntech and cryp- tocurrency courses at Duke University School of Law, said BNY Mellon’s move makes sense because “there are now numerous high-net-worth individ- uals and investment funds embracing crypto as an asset class to be added to their portfolio.” But Reiners said he believes companies will remain hesitant to accept Bitcoin for payment because of its volatility. “If you were a merchant, why would you accept payment in an asset that could be worth 20% less a day after you receive it?,” Reiners said in an email. Investors will have to grapple with that volatility as well. The price of Bitcoin has soared and dipped since its debut on the futures market in 2017. A year ago, Bitcoin sold for below $10,000. Those fl uctua- tions, analysts warn, could wreak havoc on a compa- ny’s bottom line and deter investors. Assuming Tesla bought Bitcoin at the volume weighted average price of $34,445 in January, the company is sitting on a gain of about 38% with its investment. But in the regulatory announce- ment unveiling the invest- ment, Tesla warned about the volatility of Bitcoin, its reliance on technology for use and lack of a cen- tralized issuer, such as a government. “While we intend to take all reasonable mea- sures to secure any dig- ital assets, if such threats are realized or the mea- sures or controls we create or implement to secure our digital assets fail, it could result in a partial or total misappropriation or loss of our digital assets, and our fi nancial condition and operating results may be harmed,” Tesla said in the fi ling. “Tesla is going to have to be very careful and com- prehensive in accounting for its Bitcoin investment on its books,” said Anthony Michael Sabino, a professor of law, at St. John’s Univer- sity. “Like any other fi nan- cial asset other than actual cash, it might fl uctuate.” There appears to be some reluctance among traditional companies regarding Bitcoin, at least as an investment vehicle. During a recent con- ference call with inves- tors, General Motors CEO Mary Barra said her com- pany had no plans to invest in Bitcoin, but would con- tinue to “monitor and eval- uate” potential use of digital currency. “If there’s strong cus- tomer demand for it in the future,” Barra said, “there’s nothing that pre- cludes us from doing that.” 20 W m pr th gram cia id ob bu sa bo w po in tion fo m di ev pr de FAMILY OWNED Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain Friends Restaurant and Pub proprietor Bree Gladden, right, shares directions to Wallowa Lake with customer Brooke Hampton of California. Last week, the Enterprise City Council endorsed a liquor license for Friends, and Gladden hopes to start serving beer and wine in March. 215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440 northwestfurnitureandmattress.com Presented By Online ordering, carry-out, and delivery available Due to Governor Brown’s orders and categorizing the county at Extreme Risk, we are currently only open for Carry-out and Delivery. We now have online ordering and our hours have temporarily changed. OPEN Wed thru Sat 11-7 CLOSED Sun thru Tues 1106 Adams Avenue Suite 100 • 541 663-9010 • tapthatgrowlers.com WE’RE HERE TO Hours Mon-Fri: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM Sat: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM 2306 Adams Ave La Grande, OR 97850 (541) 963-8411 51 ST Annual Northwest Ag Show HELP FEBRUARY 16–18, 2021 FREE VIRTUAL EVENT Register to attend the Pesticide Safety Seminar for OSHA Credits We're just west of I-84 (exit 261) on Adams Ave at 20th St. Full 3-Day line-up of Educational Videos & Equipment Demos • LIVE Oregon FFA Roundtable • Equipment Demonstrations presented by Kubota • Beekeeping 101, Chick Cahat & Nutrition with Nutrena presented by Coastal Farm & Ranch • Metal Buildings for Agriculture presented by Pacific Building Systems lesschwab.com Grande Ronde Symphony Celebrates… • Soil Health presented by Dr. Jimz • Preserve your Financial Legacy presented by Equilus Financial • 1st-Ever Hydroelectric Mover presented by HydroSide Systems • Equipment Demonstrations presented by Brim Tractor, Holt Ag Systems, Doerfler Tractors, & GK Machine 2021 Chamber Series Featuring: Pianist, Gretchen Longwell Performing: Partita No. 1 in Bb Major by Bach Ballade in D Minor, Intermezzo in E Major & Intermezzo in A Major by Brahms Farewell to Stromness by Peter Maxwell Davies Join us as we bring our very popular Chamber Music Series to a virtual audience Hosted by Grande Ronde Symphony music director, Zachary Banks 7:00pm (pst) on Saturday, February 20, 2021 Danza’s Argentinas by Ginastera Tune in for the original debut at 7:00pm (pst) via: www.facebook.com/GrandeRondeSymphonyOrchestra OR Exhibitor Showcase Equipment Showcase REGISTER TODAY AT ENTER TO WIN A $500 COASTAL GIFT CARD Agri-Business Showcase NorthwestAgShow.com Major Sponsors Simply register to attend at NorthwestAgShow.com www.facebook.com/EasternOregonAliveTV GrandRondeSymphony.org Learning Center NorthwestAgShow.com | 800-882-6789 | #NWAGShow