Bitcoin reached $1 trillion in market value, as cryptocurrency surge around $55,000

Bitcoin continues to hit yet another record high, bringing the cryptocurrency's total valuation to over $1 trillion on Friday.

As it approached the new milestone, the digital currency was traded at under $54,000 a coin Friday, and, increased to a peak of $54,880 later in the session. Over the last six months, the price of bitcoin has risen around 350 percent. Digital assets had never traded over $20,000 until the latest surge.

This rally fueled just after Tesla announced that it has invested $1.5 billion in the digital currency and encourage its consumers to make payments through bitcoins.

With Mastercard revealing during early February that it would incorporate cryptocurrencies into its payment network later this year, financial firms have gradually warmed to the notion of Bitcoin and blockchain.

Moreover, Bank of New York Mellon, the oldest bank in the US, has announced that it will begin funding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

The market value of all digital coins combined is about $1.7 trillion.

Meanwhile, Tesla owner Elon Musk, whose tweets sparked the bitcoin rally, said on Thursday that owning a digital coin was just marginally better than keeping cash. He also defended the recent purchase of $1.5 billion of bitcoin by Tesla, which sparked mainstream to show interest in digital currency.