Bitcoin hit a new record high

The cryptocurrency hit an all-time high during the weekend at $6,147.07 just a day after pushing through the $6,000 mark.

Much of the rise can be attributed to another upcoming split in bitcoin known as a "fork". This will lead to the creation of a new cryptocurrency called bitcoin gold. Holders of bitcoin will get some bitcoin gold when it is issued, essentially giving them free money.

According Alex Sunnarborg, said that bitcoin investors were betting on bitcoin holding its status despite the split. Bitcoin already underwent a fork in August when a new cryptocurrency called bitcoin cash was created. Despite this, bitcoin has continued to perform strongly.

At the same time, there are rumors that China could reverse its ban on cryptocurrency exchanges which is also giving bitcoin a boost.

Bitcoin has also been helped by favorable regulation in Japan which recently allowed companies to accept the digital currency as payment. Around 57 percent of the trade in bitcoin was executed in Japanese yen.

The price of bitcoin has risen over 500 percent year-to-date.

Source: Bloomberg Pro Terminal

Trader Bozhidar Arabadzhiev

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