Bitcoin price latest: Bitcoin surges to $9k – highest level of 2019 so far

Bitcoin got close to the $9,000 dollar mark on Monday and hit its highest value since May 11, 2018. But bitcoin wasn’t the only cryptocurrency to experience a sharp surge, others, including Ethereum, were markedly higher this week. The value of Bitcoin reached a one-year high and cryptocurrencies experienced a surge this week.

According to Coindesk’s Bitcoin Price Index, which tracks the price of the cryptocurrency across multiple exchanges, the digital coin hit an intraday high of $8,937.25 on Monday morning.

In just 24 hours the price of Bitcoin was up nine percent and trading around $8,788.87 at 9:50 a.m. HK/SIN on Monday.

This is the highest price Bitcoin has had since the start of the year.

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A renewal of interest in the cryptocurrency has caused its value to rocket more than 140 percent so far this year.

Experts believe this is partly to do with a rising number of companies bringing out crypto-currency related products.

Taiwanese phone maker HTC has released a phone which allows people to store digital coins.

While social media giant Facebook is looking into creating its own cryptocurrency.

A new company which allows institutional investors to trade in bitcoin has also been launched by Fidelity.

These pivotal changes are understood to be linked to the surge other cryptocurrencies also experienced on Monday.

The second biggest digital coin by value, after Bitcoin, Ethereum’s value also increased by seven percent from the day before.

While the recent surge in Bitcoin value will reassure those invested in the cryptocurrency, it is still far off its all-time highest value.

In late 2017, the price of Bitcoin reached over $19,000 which prompted a buying frenzy.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital currency that can be transferred and used to make payments anonymously without fees.

Bitcoin has been around for eight years.

Secretive internet user, Satoshi Nakamoto, invented bitcoin but his true identity has never been revealed.

Cryptocurrency fraudsters

Finance watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently issued a warning about crooks targeting people in the UK while claiming to be regulated financial companies soliciting cash for a non-existent investment.

The crypto crooks say they are representatives of ICAP Crypto, a ‘clone firm’ of the legitimate, FCA-regulated ICAP – which has no association with ICAP Crypto. Victims are given false details, mixed in with real data about the verified firms they are posing as, and asked to hand over cash. An FCA spokesperson said: “This firm (ICAP Crypto) is not authorised or registered by us but has been targeting people in the UK, claiming to be an authorised firm.

“This is what we call a ‘clone firm’ and fraudsters usually use this tactic when contacting people out of the blue, so you should be especially wary if you have been ‘cold-called’.”

source: express.co.uk