Cryptocurrency round-up: Independent Reserve CEO killed and Bitcoin is 'CIA conspiracy'

• Bitcoin price: $260.73 (£169.77, €232.85) via CoinDesk.com

The price of bitcoin has continued to improve steadily over the weekend, experiencing a 5% surge on 1 March to take its market cap above $3.6bn (£2.3bn).

Most other major cryptocurrencies have followed in bitcoin's lead, with litecoin, darkcoin and dogecoin all rising in value by between 2% and 6%.

The biggest mover across all markets was Maieuticoin, the "first coin with dedicated standalone staking hardware". A 106% increase in value saw the relatively obscure cryptocurrency move into the top 100 list of most valuable altcoins.

Adam Tepper dies in motorcycle accident

The CEO of Australia-based cryptocurrency company Independent Reserve has died in a motorcycle accident in Thailand.

Adam Tepper was on holiday at the time of the accident and, according to local police reports, died instantly when the bike he was travelling on hit a pole.

"It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you of the death of Adam Tepper," Adrian Przelozny, chief technology officer at Independent Reserve, wrote on the company's website.

"Adam died in a motorcycle accident on Thursday. Adam was a passionate advocate for the use of digital currency in Australia.

"He lived his life to the beat of his own drum and Independent Reserve is a testament to his vision, intelligence and perseverance. He will be sorely missed by his family, friends and the Bitcoin community."

Bitcoin is 'CIA conspiracy'

A Russian lawmaker has accused bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like it of being established by US intelligence agencies in order to finance revolutions and terrorism.

Andrei Svintsov made the claims during a debate about bitcoin with Russian broadcast news agency REGNUM.

"All these cryptocurrencies [were] created by US intelligence agencies just to finance terrorism and revolutions," Svintsov said.

The politician referred to reports linking the cryptocurrency with terrorist organisations for the purpose of facilitating the movement of funds.