After reaching an all-time high for the first time in three years back in December 2016, the value of bitcoin again jumped. At over $1,000, it has never come this close since December 2013.
Bitcoin is a web-based "cryptocurrency" that has no central authority. Since it relies on thousand of computers in a network that spans across the world that validates transaction, the currency has been one of the ways for people to invest and deal with inflation.
The cryptocurrency's price jumped 2.5 percent to $1,022 on the Europe-based Bitstamp exchange, its highest since December 2013. Bitcoin has climbed by 125 in 2016, with the largest daily move amounting to a maximum of 10 percent throughout the year.
The rise in value is believed from the increase in demand for bitcoins in China, which is seen as a nation where bitcoin trading happens more often than anywhere in the world. China has saw a 7 slump in the value of its national currency, yuan.
Although the digital currency has known to be highly volatile - a tenfold increase in its value in two months in late 2013 took it to above $1,100 with its highest value ever at was about $1,163. This was before a hack on the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox exchange that saw it plunge to less than $400 in the following weeks. Since then, it has in the past two years been more stable.