Bitcoin valuation skyrockets to cross all time high of $10,000, grows ten-fold YTD

Also Read: Explainer: What is bitcoin and how does it work?

The oldest cryptocurrency in the world has seen a massive surge in its valuation in last eleven months riding on surging demand and high trading volume. It has seen a near ten-fold rise in valuation from USD 997.69 on January 1 to now. In the month of November alone, the cryptocurrency has soared by over USD 3,550.

The total market capitalisation of the cryptocurrency market touched USD 300 billion on Monday for the first time ever.

Also Read: Energy consumed by bitcoin miners around the world is more than over 150 countries

Virtual currencies have also seen a gradual increase in acceptance across the world. Japan has already legalised it as a legal tender. Last week, payment gateway Billdesk launched India’s first cryptocurrency exchange—Coinome.

The exchange supports instant deposits using payment gateway and instant withdrawals, thereby allowing transactions even on weekends or business holidays. The exchange plans to support 20 mainstream crypto-currencies by 2018.

The surge in interest also comes on the back of CME's (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) announcement that it will list bitcoin futures in the second week of December. The launch of a derivatives product for the digital currency will mark another step in establishing bitcoin as a legitimate asset class.

Prospects of higher returns have also attracted investors towards the cryptocurrencies, despite various apprehensions expressed by central banks of many countries.