Bitcoin: Mark Richardson reveals he's invested in popular cryptocurrency

Mark Richardson has "gone off the rails" and invested in Bitcoin, according to his co-host Duncan Garner, with Richardson confirming he wanted to be "down with the young people".

It's unclear how much the sports-reader and former cricket player invested in the popular cryptocurrency.

The revelation came as Garner interviewed Milford Asset Management senior analyst Frances Sweetman, who was discussing local meal-kit company My Food Bag entering the New Zealand share market.

"Here's the advice bit - because Mark, he bought Bitcoin," Garner said. "Mark bought Bitcoin. Can you believe it? Yesterday, Mark bought Bitcoin. I mean, the guy's gone off the rails."

"Hey! I just want to be down with the young people, alright? That's what they're into," Richardson protested.

Newsreader Amanda Gillies asked Richardson to tell the viewers what happened to his Bitcoin shares following the investment.

"Well, they went down 4 percent overnight."

The table giggled, with Sweetman saying: "It is a highly speculative investment."

On Tuesday (NZ time), the price of Bitcoin reached a record high due to a US1.5 billion investment by Tesla, the electric vehicle company owned by the world's richest man, Elon Musk.

Musk, who has a current net worth of US$175.9 billion, also revealed that Tesla intends to start accepting Bitcoin as payment in the future - a brilliant piece of news for Bitcoin investors.

The price spike saw Bitcoin hit a record high, US$45,000 - up 300 percent on this time last year.

Tesla's significant investment was seen by some as a vote of confidence in the volatile currency. However, Richard Lyons, a professor of economics and finance at the Haas School of Business, said his advice is "don't do it".

"My own recommendation to the individual investor that's investing in a retirement account - or something very serious - is don't do it," he told Newshub.

At the end of last year, the price of Bitcoin topped US$29,000 for the first time, with the digital currency almost quadrupling in value during 2020 amid heightened interest from big and small investors alike.

Currently, one Bitcoin is the equivalent of NZ$62,581.