27 Nov 2013 / RT – Bitcoin, the digital ‘crypto-currency’ has passed the $1,000 mark for the first time in history, marking a growth of some 4,000% since the beginning of the year. The milestone was recorded by Tokyo-based Mt Gox bitcoin exchange on Wednesday.
The unregulated virtual currency’s popularity has been soaring in recent weeks, having doubled in just the past seven days. In just one day, November 18, the price leaped from $478 in the morning to $744 at midnight (GMT).
This was the same day that US Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee held the currency’s first Congressional hearing entitled “Beyond Silk Road: Potential Risks, Threats and Promises of Virtual Currencies” to take a close look at existing virtual currencies, including bitcoin.
Bitcoin temporarily exceeded the equivalent of $1,000 on the Chinese exchange, BTC China, on the 19th of November. However, this is the first time the $1,000 mark has been surpassed in a US dollar denominated exchange rate.
China is one of the world’s biggest Bitcoin markets, but demand for the virtual currency appears to be exploding on a global level. The University of Nicosia (UNic), one of the major English language universities in the Mediterranean, announced during the past week that it would be accepting bitcoin payments for its digital currency program next year…… Read more
