US$10,000 in sight for bitcoin as it rockets to new record high

LONDON - Bitcoin's vertiginous ascent showed no signs of stopping on Monday, with the cryptocurrency soaring to another record high just a few per cent away from US$10,000 (S$13,500) after gaining more than a fifth in value over the past three days alone.

The digital currency has seen an eye-watering tenfold increase in its value since the start of the year, and has more than doubled in value since the beginning of October.

It surged 4.5 per cent on the day on Monday to trade at $9,687 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange.

Bitcoin's price has been helped in recent months by the announcement that the world's biggest derivatives exchange operator CME Group would start offering bitcoin futures. The company said last week the futures would launch by the end of the year though no precise date had been set.

"$10k is on the cards and bitcoin seems to be straining at the leash to reach it," said Charles Hayter, founder of cryptocurrency data anaylsis website Cryptocompare.

"Promises of bitcoin futures opening the door to institutional money are supercharging the price."