Bitcoin skyrockets above $7,000 for first time ever

LONDON: Digital currency bitcoin rocketed above $7,000 for the first time ever on Thursday, after a more than sevenfold increase in its value since the start of the year.

Bitcoin has seen eye-watering gains in recent months and has more than doubled in value in the past seven weeks alone. It hit as high as $7,066.44 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange on Thursday.

The latest rally was driven by news earlier this week that the world’s largest derivatives exchange operator CME Group is to launch bitcoin futures.

The price move takes bitcoin’s aggregate value, or “market cap” -- its price multiplied by the number of bitcoins released into circulation -- to more than $117 billion, according to industry website Coinmarketcap.

The aggregate value of all cryptocurrencies is now at a record high of over $190 billion, the website said.