Bitcoin just hit its highest against the dollar in nearly two years
Whoosh. That's the sound of bitcoin whistling past, as it jumped to its highest level against the dollar in nearly two years.
The cryptocurrency leaped to $556.19 in mid-afternoon trading, its highest since August 2014.
That followed US data which showed job openings rose by just 38,000 in May, way below the 160,000 expected.
Analysts dubbed the figures "crazy": "This is miles below even the most pessimistic expectation," admitted David Morrison, senior market strategist at Spreadco.
The data caused expectations of a Fed rate rise at this month's meeting of the Federal Open Markets Comittee to plummet from 21 per cent to four per cent.
Bitcoin has experienced a rally in recent weeks – prices have jumped more than $100 since the end of May, pushed up by demand from China.
In March asset manager Needham & Company also dubbed bitcoin undervalued, suggesting its price should be closer to $655.
The company said bitcoin has a value "as both a digital gold and as a payments channel". Compared to invesment in gold, it suggested the cryptocurrency should be trading almost 60 per cent higher.
However, the rally may come to an end soon: the Australian government is due to sell off $13m it confiscated as proceeds of crime in 2015 later this month.