Investing.com - The price of virtual currency Bitcoin rose to a new record high on Wednesday, with the price of one Bitcoin briefly reaching USD977, as the Bitcoin community prepares to hold its own Black Friday event.
The currency approached the USD1000 level, with BTC/USD briefly rising to 977 on the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, the Tokyo based MT Gox before falling back to USD960. This compares to a price of about USD200 in October.
Bitcoin entrepreneur Jon Holmquist has launched a website called Bitcoin Black Friday, aimed at raising awareness about the controversial cryptocurrency, by offering deals on the biggest U.S. shopping day of the year.
A number of businesses including Reddit, CheapAir.com, the first online travel agency to accept Bitcoin, and Gyft, which offers gift cards for retailers such as Amazon and Target are listed on the site.
Earlier this month, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that virtual currencies “may hold long-term promise, particularly if the innovations promote a faster, more secure, and more efficient payment system.”
However, the Fed Chairman also warned that the bank could do little to regulate online currencies.
“Although the Federal Reserve generally monitors developments in virtual currencies and other payments system innovations, it does not necessarily have authority to directly supervise or regulate these innovations or the entities that provide them to the market,” he said.
According to Bitcoincharts.com, a website that provides financial information about the currency, the value of all Bitcoins in circulation exceeded USD1.5 billion at the end of August 2013, with millions of dollars’ worth of Bitcoins exchanged on a daily basis.
The currency approached the USD1000 level, with BTC/USD briefly rising to 977 on the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, the Tokyo based MT Gox before falling back to USD960. This compares to a price of about USD200 in October.
Bitcoin entrepreneur Jon Holmquist has launched a website called Bitcoin Black Friday, aimed at raising awareness about the controversial cryptocurrency, by offering deals on the biggest U.S. shopping day of the year.
A number of businesses including Reddit, CheapAir.com, the first online travel agency to accept Bitcoin, and Gyft, which offers gift cards for retailers such as Amazon and Target are listed on the site.
Earlier this month, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that virtual currencies “may hold long-term promise, particularly if the innovations promote a faster, more secure, and more efficient payment system.”
However, the Fed Chairman also warned that the bank could do little to regulate online currencies.
“Although the Federal Reserve generally monitors developments in virtual currencies and other payments system innovations, it does not necessarily have authority to directly supervise or regulate these innovations or the entities that provide them to the market,” he said.
According to Bitcoincharts.com, a website that provides financial information about the currency, the value of all Bitcoins in circulation exceeded USD1.5 billion at the end of August 2013, with millions of dollars’ worth of Bitcoins exchanged on a daily basis.