BITCOIN has surged to yet another new record hitting an all-time high of $9,682.10 on Monday morning.
9.17am:Reacing to the news that Bitcoin's price hit a record high of $9637.55 (£7237.25) on Monday morning, Nicholas Gregory, CEO of cryptocurrency enabler CommerceBlock, commented:
"It's a development that symbolises the shift we’ve been hoping for, namely the widespread adoption of bitcoin by people and business that could ultimately see it replace pounds, pence, dollars and cents.”
Mr Gregory says that few would bet against Bitcoin hitting $10,000 before the 25th but many in the industry, "won’t be punching the air when we get there".
According to CEO Gregory, the price is not as important as the "widespread adoption" and use of cryptocurrencies in day-to-day life and the financial industries. In fact Mr Gregory adds, "too much hype only puts ordinary people off".
"Bitcoin passing the $9,000 mark will spark more talk of a crash, Mr Gregory says, "However, it’s important to remember that a correction is certain sooner or later. A bubble popping and a viable longer term future are not mutually exclusive. We've seen this with the dotcom bubble", he says.
Like many industry leaders, the CommerceBlock CEO says that crypto price correction is essential or Bitcoin risks becoming "detached".
However, an increasing number of users are looking into the technology and Mr Gregory adds that Coinbase (digital asset broker) added 100,000 accounts in a 48-hour period last week: "Thanksgiving shows bitcoin hasn't just captured the public's imagination but its wallet, too."
7.30am:The rise and rise of Bitcoin continues to astound users and finance industry analysts after reaching a record high of $9637.55 (£7237.25) on Monday morning.
As the US celebrated Thanksgiving, Bitcoin continued to surge after hitting $9,400 level on Sunday and showing no signs of slowing down.
The digital currency has risen a staggering 869 percent so far this year with the price on January 1st 2017 coming in at just above $1,000 on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index.
Bitcoin's rise has led to the total market capitalisation for all cryptocurrencies to reach $300 billion for the first time - not bad for technology that started out as little more than an academic paper and some open source computer code, released in January 2009.
Bitcoin's value appears to be moving upwards in response to the technology gaining mainstream notoriety and popular usage.
Last week's news that Paris-based asset manager Tobam launched Europe's first mutual fund to draw investor interest in the booming but volatile currency is supported by Brian Kelly, CEO of BKCM who told CNBC news that today's spike, "appears to be retail driven" with more retailers accepting the Cryptocurrency for payment, and more financial institutions looking to Bitcoin for value.
Ethereum, the second most valuable cryptocurrency, has a press-time market capitalisation of $46 billion and is currently trading at about $475, representing a price increase of more than 25% in the past week alone.
Despite the giddy prices central bankers say the success of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is just a bubble.
Top global bankers remain cautious and concerned over the feat that these private currencies threaten the bankers' control of their own banking system and money supply, which could undermine the monetary policies they use to manage inflation.
With bitcoin smashing through the $9,000 level over the weekend, they are also worried they will be blamed if the market crashes.
With concerns on a global-scale several central banks are advocating regulations to impose control. Others are even looking at whether to introduce their own digital currency and are testing payment platforms.
"The problem with bitcoin is that it could easily blow up and central banks could then be accused of not doing anything," says European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny.