Bitcoin price latest: Bitcoin hits record high above $4000
The booming cryptocurrency made headlines a week ago for breaking the $3,000 barrier, up from under $1,000 on January 1 2017. Justin Short, CEO and founder of trading platform NOUS, tweeted: “BTC $4k. It may be volatile but it's not worthless.” Today’s high was £3,341.67 ($4,338.16), according to the latest data from CoinDesk. The price of bitcoin has been boosted by heavy demand in Japan where the currency was adopted as legal tender in April.
Bitcoin trade in Japanese yen accounted for 42 per cent of international trade on Sunday, according to CryptoCompare.
BTC $4k. It may be volatile but it's not worthless Justin Short, CEO of NOUS
Trading in the Far East is becoming more important as time goes by, said Brian Kelly, head of BKCM, which runs a digital asset strategy. "Bitcoin is benefitting from geopolitical tensions - trading in Japan and Korea has increased significantly over the last few months,” he told CNBC. Bitcoin’s market cap is now valued at more than $69billion (£53billion), up by more than $10billion (£7.7billion) from last week alone.
COINDESK Bitcoin price latest: The volatile cryptocurrency soared above $4,000 this weekend
COINMARKETCAP Bitcoin's market cap could shoot above $70 billion – more than the value of Paypal
If the token continues to go up in value, its market cap could overtake Paypal in a move dubbed as ‘the flipping'. Paypal’s market cap currently stands at more than $70 billion (£53 billion). The price hike also comes after the introduction of the 'Segregated Witness' (SegWit) update which promises to speed up transaction times on the network. But the last month has been far from a smooth ride for the cryptocurrency, which plummeted below $2,000 in July for the first time since May. Doubt was also cast over the currency’s future on August 1, when the new bitcoin cash token (BCH) forked off from the main blockchain, splitting the cryptocurrency in two.
How much is your money worth? Tue, July 25, 2017 New five pound notes could make you a whopping £20,000. This is what you should be looking out for in your wallet. Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 11 A faulty £1 coin which has the 2016 date on one side and 2017 in micro-inscriptions around the edge of the reverse is worth £3,000