The price of bitcoin hit yet another new record high today, to nearly $65,000, on a day that cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. surged on its debut on the Nasdaq.

The debut of Coinbase, the largest U.S. registered cryptocurrency exchange was unprecedented. After providing a reference price of $250 per share, Coinbase shares debuted at $381, up 52% before closing regular trading at $328.28, up 31% from the reference price.

While the Coinbase direct listing was one celebrated in the cryptocurrency world, the increasing price of bitcoin is for the most part related but favorable nonetheless.

After breaking through $50,000 in February, bitcoin has traded at a range around $45,000 in March before rising to a recent range of $52,000 to $58,000. To the moon is a common cliché in the cryptocurrency community, but despite the rollercoaster ride that does see the occasional price drop, the overall trend is that bitcoin continues to rise.

The continuing price increase is attributed to institutional investments. “Experts say the continued climb of bitcoin in recent months was partly fueled by decisions by some major U.S. companies to invest in bitcoin, Voice of America noted. “Those moves — along with the listing of Coinbase on the Nasdaq — have helped bring cryptocurrencies more into the U.S. financial mainstream, the experts say.”

The best-known large investment in bitcoin was by Tesla Inc., the electric car company owned by Elon Musk. Tesla invested $1.5 billion into bitcoin in February. It’s not known what Tesla paid for that bitcoin but given the price increase in the last two months, it must be sitting on a very nice profit from that investment.

Not everyone is on the bitcoin train, however. Yahoo Finance reported that in a survey of 200 global fund managers, 74% said bitcoin is in a bubble. Only 16% said that bitcoin was not a bubble, while 10% didn’t answer.

Bitcoin was trading at $63,092 as of about midnight EDT after hitting a high of $64,747 as of 7:47 p.m.

Photo: Coinbase