For the first time in over two months, the price of bitcoin surpassed $20,000 on Saturday.
The biggest and most well-known cryptocurrency in the world, Bitcoin, gained $922 to reach $20,853 at 00:01 GMT on Saturday, up 4.6% from its previous closing.
From the year’s low of $16,496 on January 1, the cryptocurrency has increased by 26.4%.
The cryptocurrency ether, which is connected to the Ethereum blockchain, increased by $85.90 or 5.91% on Saturday to reach $1,536.3.
Virtual money built from computer code is called bitcoin. It has no central bank and is not backed by any government, unlike a real-world currency like the US dollar or the euro.
It is instead managed and controlled by the Bitcoin user base. Because it is not susceptible to a state’s whims which can, for instance, devalue its currency to increase exports it is an efficient substitute for conventional currencies, according to its proponents.
Bitcoins can be traded for products and services, or for other currencies, just like other currencies can provide the other side is willing to accept them.
When Satoshi Nakamoto, a person whose name sounds like a Japanese word, created a piece of encrypted software, it was first released in 2009.
A few people have questioned the assertion made by the elusive Australian businessman Craig Wright last year that he invented Bitcoin.
Following Bitcoin, hundreds of other digital currencies gained popularity, but an increasing number of businesses are starting to accept Bitcoin as payment.
On a computer network, transactions take place when highly encrypted codes are transmitted. To ensure that no one Bitcoin can be used in more than one location at once, the network as a whole monitor and verifies the transaction.
By having their computers carry out complex and challenging procedures, users can “mine” bitcoins, or create new ones.
Only 21 million of the model will ever be produced due to its limitations.