CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The digital currency Bitcoin rocketed to a record high last week above $40,000 a coin. This comes after the currency languished for two years, plummeting from the previous high of $19,000 reached back in December 2018, when Bitcoin was subject to another round of media hype and investor interest.

Mike Venuto is co-portfolio manager for the Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF, a $391 million fund that focuses on companies that trade and develop uses for Bitcoin and other digital currencies, as well as the technology behind the currency, known as the blockchain.

He spoke to The Associated Press about Bitcoin’s recent rise and what’s different this time for the currency:

Q: Tell us a little bit about the fund.

A: We’re an actively managed fund, because things in blockchain and this space are changing all the time it would be impossible to build a passively managed fund. We invest in blockchain companies, miners, and other companies in the space. We hold a small amount of Bitcoin and other currencies, but mostly get our exposure through the companies we own. But we would never hold more than 5% of the total fund in Bitcoin directly.

Q: It took two years for Bitcoin to rally back to its record hit in late 2018. What’s different this time?

A: Nothing has changed with Bitcoin in the last two years. It’s still a decentralized digital currency using the blockchain created years ago. What’s changed is perception. Investors are looking for safe harbors for their assets, similar to how gold and silver are used.

Q: Should investors expect Bitcoin to keep going up?

A: Bitcoin is going to remain as volatile as ever, and there will be bumps in the road. You’ll see massive moves up and massive moves down. What remains attractive are the companies who are using Bitcoin and the blockchain infrastructure to build use cases and practical applications for it.

Q: Evangelists of Bitcoin and other currencies talk about how it will replace paper money. In two years, that hasn’t happened. Do you think it will ever happen?

A: The original argument for Bitcoin was it would provide the ability for the unbanked - those without bank accounts - to transact securely without a bank. Is that going to materialize? Will you be able to buy a cup of coffee with Bitcoin? Probably not with the current version of Bitcoin. It’s largely become a store of value. But with other cryptocurrencies, we are seeing use cases like that.

Q: As of the writing of this article, Democrats look to be taking complete control of Congress. Will regulation impact Bitcoin’s price or the technology behind it?

A: For the blockchain, the underlying technology of Bitcoin, regulation would be awesome. We can set some ground rules so it can merge more smoothly with the traditional financial system. But for Bitcoin itself, I think its decentralized nature will keep it relatively safe from interested governments. But you should expect there to be more scrutiny of Bitcoin, which could impact its price.

HIGH POINT, N.C. (AP) - As word spread about the sit-ins at the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro 61 years ago, four teenagers began organizing their own sit-in - believed to be the first in the nation by high school students.

One of them, Mary Lou Blakeney, stood underneath an umbrella in a cold rain Thursday (Feb. 11) before a metallic artist’s rendering of that lesser-known protest.

As in Greensboro, Black people could shop at the Woolworth’s store in High Point but could not eat at the segregated lunch counter.

At some point, a reporter 61 years ago pointed out that they were the first high school students organizing and leading a lunch counter protest.

“We didn’t think about that,” said the retired nurse, as she stood on Wrenn Street, at the back of where Woolworth’s once stood. “All we knew was that we were close to people doing the same thing.

“We wanted to right wrongs.”

The four N.C. A&T freshman who kicked off the Feb. 1, 1960 sit-ins in Greensboro started a movement that spread and put pressure on cities across the South.

Blakeney, then a 15-year-old student at the all-Black William Penn High School, and her fellow organizers - sisters Brenda Jean Fountain and Miriam Lynn Fountain, who had integrated High Point Central High School a year earlier, and their pal Andrew Dennis McBride - felt empowered.

“Our history is not complete without us telling this story,” said Blakeney, who years later would serve on the High Point City Council.

During Thursday’s gathering, ministers took turns praying for peace, unity and understanding near the sit-in monument, designed by sculptor Thomas Jay Warren.

Blakeney’s voice was strong and her words detailed as she recalled the event six decades ago.

On Feb. 11, 1960 - also a Thursday - the 26 students took seats at the counter of the former F.W. Woolworth store facing South Main Street.

The lunch counter was immediately closed for the day, and in the coming days, the students also staged sit-ins at the Paramount Theater, other stores and several churches.

The four high school organizers, ages 14 to 16, had been following what was taking place in Greensboro.

Everyone was talking about it.

In preparation for their demonstration, they sought advice from the Rev. B. Elton Cox, a Freedom Fighter who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., and Miriam Fountain, a retired teacher and the mother of two of the students. He was initially reluctant because of their ages.

But the students wouldn’t be dissuaded, promising him that the demonstrations would be nonviolent.

With the demonstration looming, a large group of students met and were quizzed, challenged and weeded out, according to Blakeney. The number dwindled to 26.

On Feb. 11, they left school - 24 students from William Penn High and the Fountain sisters from High Point Central - and headed to Woolworth’s.

It was about 4 p.m. and snow from a recent storm was still piled on the sides of streets.

Parents knew what they were planning and gave their blessing despite the reality that if their employers found out they might be fired.

“I don’t know one that dissuaded us,” Blakeney recalled.

First, the students stopped at the Fourth Street YMCA/YWCA for prayer.

Once they got to the store, students began milling about as if they were shopping.

When they got the signal from Cox, who touched his hat, they began slipping into empty seats at the counter. Students took over other seats once customers left.

A waitress told them they wouldn’t be served.

Blakeney said the manager approached. When they wouldn’t budge, the police were called.

The students began to do their homework, but by then a crowd had gathered, including a group of men who pulled up in a truck.

Blakeney described the turning mood as “ugly,” with some in the crowd attempting to strike and kick the students. She remembers racial slurs hurled their way as police looked on.

Blakeney, who admits to having a temper, says she was resolute that day.

“I was not going to do anything that was going to jeopardize anything we had planned,” Blakeney said. “We were deeply committed.”

The students stayed in their seats, even as they grew fearful.

The lights were turned out and an announcement was made that the store had closed.

Blakeney said they sang “We Shall Overcome” and walked out with their heads high and filled with a sense of accomplishment - and fear. They were followed down Washington Street and pelted with snowballs.

When they returned the next day, the lunch counter was roped off.

So they stood behind it and sang.

And they returned the next day. And the next.

“We have a ways to go,” she said as others shook their heads. “We must continue the fight.”