The digital currency bitcoin vaulted to a new record high above $4000 on Saturday, boosted by strong Japanese demand on its way to multiplying its value fourfold this year. <\/p>\n
Bitcoin hit an all-time high of$4,225.40 early Sunday before slightly paring those gains to trade near $4,000, according toCoinDesk. <\/p>\n
The digital currency has now quadrupled in 2017, and is up about 40 percent in August alone. Bitcoin's market value is now around $64 billion, up about $10 billion in the last week. <\/p>\n
Bitcoin trade in Japanese yen accounted for nearly 46 percent of global trade volume, up from about a third a day ago, according to CryptoCompare. US-dollar bitcoin trade accounted for about 25 percent, according to CryptoCompare. Bitcoin trade in Chinese yuan and South Korean won accounted for about 12 percent each. <\/p>\n
The surge picked up speed in the last week, mirroring gold's climb amid a global selloff in stocks and bonds . Rising worries about North Korea's nuclear threat have sent investors flocking to perceived safe-havens and alternative assets. <\/p>\n
\"Bitcoin is benefitting from geopolitical tensions - trading in Japan and Korea has increased significantly over the last few months,\" Brian Kelly, a CNBC contributor and head of BKCM, which runs an digital asset strategy, said in an email. He also attributed price gains to investors buying back bitcoin after the Aug. 1 split and greater attention from the Russian government. <\/p>\n
Analysts have also noted increased investor interest, especially from institutional investors, after bitcoin successfully survived an Aug. 1 split into bitcoin and bitcoin cash. <\/p>\n
This week, Fidelity launched a feature allowing customers to also view their Coinbase bitcoin holdings. The currency also got a boost from Goldman Sachs, which in a report released this week said it is harder for institutional investors to ignore cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. <\/p>\n
That said, bitcoin's future is still uncertain. The digital currency could potentially split again in November, when the second phase of an upgrade proposal called Segregated Witness is implemented. <\/p>\n
Chris Burniske, author of the upcoming book, \"Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond,\" also noted a sharp pullback in price would not be surprising, given bitcoin's rapid surge. <\/p>\n
He noted on Twitter that upticks in the bitcoin price and Google searches have historically led to price corrections. <\/p>\n
Bitcoin's offshoot, bitcoin cash, traded little changed near $323, according to CoinMarketCap. <\/p>\n
Another digital currency, ethereum, traded nearly 5 percent higher near $315. <\/p>\n
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Bitcoin boom: Cryptocurrency marks new record above $4K, boosted by Japan and safe-haven buying - Yahoo Finance<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The digital currency bitcoin vaulted to a new record high above $4000 on Saturday, boosted by strong Japanese demand on its way to multiplying its value fourfold this year. Continue reading