Bitcoin hurtles towards $13,000
The price of bitcoin soared to its highest level since January 2018, as the cryptocurrency's recent rally shows little signs of fizzling out.
In Asian trading hours on Wednesday, the price of bitcoin traded on the Bitstamp exchange rose as much as 10 per cent to as high as $12,935.58, putting the digital currency on track for its biggest one-day jump in more than a month.
Bitcoin's value has now jumped for the last eight trading sessions in a row, bringing its overall return for the year to 250 per cent. Still, the digital currency remains some way below its peak of more than $19,000 reached at the end of 2017.
Recent enthusiasm for bitcoin has been stoked by Facebook's foray into the world of cryptocurrencies, launching its own currency called Libra. The coin is designed as a means of payment and for international money transfers. Analysts are optimistic that Libra will help cryptocurrencies generally gain more mainstream acceptance.