Bitcoin passes $2,900 barrier to hit new record high

Bitcoin broke a new record on 6 June as its valuation crossed the $2,900 (£2,250) barrier for the first time.

The crypto-currency started the previous day hovering around the $2,600 mark, but took off shortly after midnight (BST), according to data published by CoinDesk. The currency reached $2,911 per coin, before dipping $100 then stabilising between $2,800 and $2,900.

It is unlikely to be long until bitcoin crosses the $3,000 mark, which would represent a near six-fold growth in value since this time last year, when it sat at a little over $500 per coin. Much of the growth came in April and May, prompting fears of an imminent crash; but short of a brief $250 dip at the end of May, this is yet to materialise.

As is often the case with crypto-currencies, a rise in bitcoin has been echoed across the market. Ethereum had grown by over 5% in the 24 hours before the publication of this article, while litecoin saw gains of over 4%, to $258 and $30.73 respectively, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Unusually for bitcoin price spikes, there is no obvious reason for today's surge in value, other than continued optimism among Chinese users. The country's three largest bitcoin exchanges announced last week that their customers could once again withdraw their coins as real-world currency, having halted withdrawals in February.

Other recent good news includes Japan recognising bitcoin as a legal payment method in April and the lack of a major crash in late-May, when prices fell sharply but recovered quickly.