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Bitcoin surges past $10,000

Bitcoin surges past $10,000

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The cryptocurrency has spiked 933 percent since January

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Bitcoin Cryptocurrency Is Booming
Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Bitcoin is now worth over $10,000. The cryptocurrency, which crossed the milestone for the first time since its creation in 2008, surged past $10,000 on Tuesday evening as it climbs toward $11,000, according to research site CoinDesk. Bitcoin has spiked 933 percent since the beginning of the year, when it traded at $968.23, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Despite concerns with Bitcoin’s association with criminal activities, investors have piled into the cryptocurrency recently as an alternative safe haven to more traditional assets like gold. The WSJ does note that though the surge in price has been substantial, it’s unlikely many investors have made a lot given that 75 percent of digital wallets (which are used to store cryptocurrencies) have less than 0.1 Bitcoin in them. Some critics warn that the surge may be indicative of a speculative bubble that may soon burst. At the time of publication Bitcoin was trading at $10,823, according to CoinDesk.

Bitcoin has a market value of $180 billion according to BitInfoCharts, a substantial amount that’s more than the value of General Electric. Rumors have abounded about who the mysterious creator — known only under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto — of the cryptocurrency is. The latest person to deny they’re Nakamoto was Elon Musk.