Bitcoin surges to a record high as value of virtual currency DOUBLES in two months
BITCOIN’S meteoric price rise continued yesterday, taking it to a record high.
The digital currency surged 4.5 per cent to £7,286 on the Luxembourg-based BITSTAMP exchange, before easing back to around £7,195.
Bitcoin, which has doubled in value since the beginning of October, has gained over a fifth in value over the past three days alone, fuelling fears of a bubble.
The so-called cryptocurrency has been boosted by the prospect of soon entering the financial mainstream.
The currency, once closely associated with the dark web and payments to hackers, is a digital payment system without a centralised administrator.
Launched in 2009, it allows transactions to take place between users directly.
Transactions are recorded on a public ledger called blockchain.
Bitcoins are often held in an online wallet and can be exchanged for other currencies, products and services.
Its price has been helped by the announcement that the giant CHICAGO MERCANTILE EXCHANGE would start offering Bitcoin futures contracts by the end of the year.
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But EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK policymaker Ewald Nowotny said: “We’re trying to understand whether bank activity in relation to cryptocurrency trading needs to be better regulated.”