Crypto currency Bitcoin soared above the $4,000 mark on Monday after the digital currency hit $4,009.89 on Saturday, before reaching a record high of $4,225.40 on Sunday, according to CoinDesk.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $4,118.61, giving it a market capitalisation of $67.98bn.
The currency’s 43 per cent surge comes after Bitcoin split in two, following a growing tension between the demand for the virtual currency. The break-away, known as Bitcoin Cash, staged its trading debut at the start of the month.
Demand for Bitcoin has taken off among start-up companies, who have raised money via “initial coin offerings” by selling digital tokes or coins – such as ether or bitcoin – that allow investors to use the software or service provided by the start-up.
“Up until now a lot of people didn’t really believe Bitcoin could go any higher until the scaling issue is resolved,” said Arthur Hayes, Hong Kong-based founder of bitcoin exchange BitMEX, according to Bloomberg. “With this actually being implemented on protocol, theoretically the amount of transactions that can be processed at a reasonable speed is going to be much higher, so a lot of people are very bullish about Bitcoin now.”
Bitcoin has been on an incredible rally this year, up over 300 percent since the start of 2017. The digital currency only passed $3,500 for the first time earlier this month.
