Bitcoin hits 10-month high of nearly $9,000 after strong start to 2019
Bitcoin edged close to the $9,000 mark today as it extended a strong run since the beginning of the year.
The cryptocurrency rose more than ten per cent over the past day to $8,775, figures from Coin Market Cap show.
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It underlines a boom in the currency since January, having seen a 236 per cent rise since the beginning of the year from $3,719.
The rise has helped reinforce bitcoin’s place as the world’s top cryptocurrency, pushing the overall value of all bitcoins to $155bn.
It means the currency is well ahead of second-place ethereum on $28bn and third-place XRP on $17bn.
All three currencies have seen a major boost in recent weeks, with ethereum and XRP both showing strong growth of around seven per cent today.
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But the boost still puts the famous cryptocurrency well below all-time highs at the end of 2017, when a crypto craze grabbed the markets.
The price of bitcoin fell just short of $20,000 per unit in the middle of December 2017, more than doubling its value in just a month.