Bitcoin’s started 2017 with a bang surging past $1,000
Bitcoin has got off to a roaring start in 2017 surging past the $1,000 "psychological barrier" for the first time in three years.
Already on a tear in 2016, hitting a string of highs and more than doubling in value last year, the price passed the milestone late on Sunday according to Coindesk's bitcoin price index (BPI).
The surge comes amid a continued turn to bitcoin by investors. The cryprocurrency has become more alluring as a safe haven amid greater capital controls around the world.
Read more: Bitcoin surges past $900 mark for first time since December 2013
"There has been a crackdown in China and India recently which have restricted their citizens ability to move cash," said Mihir Kapadia chief executive and founder of Sun Global Investments.
"This has resulted in some increase in demand for gold but the greater impact has been on bitcoin and other crypto currencies. Investors who might otherwise have bought gold in order to overcome government restrictions on currencies have been buying cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, which has appreciated strongly in recent weeks."
The bitcoin price hit an all time high in 2013 before the MT Gox hack sent it tumbling below $400.