Bitcoin price (BTCUSD) breaks key $10,000 mark on some exchanges

Bitcoin prices briefly climbed above $10,000 on some exchanges for the first time ever late last night.

While some South Korea-based exchanges briefly rose to record highs, most of the world’s bitcoin exchanges have yet to break the psychologically important $10,000 mark. According to Coindesk’s aggregate index, the cryptocurrency rose as high as $9,929 today, up more than one per cent from the previous close.

Bitcoin only broke the $9,000 mark on Sunday, and it didn’t even hit $5,000 until October. The rapid rise in price has sparked fears that the cryptocurrency is a bubble that is about to burst.

Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com, said: “Bitcoin has sailed past a number of surprising milestones this year, with the $10,000-mark achieved today the most significant so far.

“With its rising valuation built on the bitcoin buzz more than real worth, it’s likely that we won’t see Bitcoin decline in value until it’s more widely accepted.

“Until bitcoin becomes a commonly used payment source, it’s very possible that it could hit $15,000 and beyond based on its current desirability.

“Strangely, bitcoin’s undoing is likely to come as the list of merchants accepting the cryptocurrency grows. As it stands, bitcoin holders have few spending options, so, as the number of its users goes up so does its value.

“If bitcoin falls into wider circulation, and becomes accepted into more conventional funds and exchanges, we are likely to see a normalisation of its value.”

Read more: This massive private equity investor reckons the bitcoin bubble will burst