Bitcoin continues its climb and broke through $36,000 for a new high as the digital currency took advantage of sustained momentum, Forbes and other cryptocurrency sites reported Thursday.
The world's most popular virtual currency rallied to as much as $36,462 at around 4 p.m. EST, CoinDesk reported. It was last traded at $36,889.50 in Asia action, according to Morningstar.
It dropped more than 10% to $29,310 earlier this week. Last year it experienced a more than 300% rally to above $29,000.
While Bitcoin's latest price swings may be reminiscent of past growth and bust cycles, the electronic currency's capacity to reverse its decline so quickly this week indicates investors are not shunning the space, Matt Long, chief of distribution and prime products with cryptocurrency brokerage OSL in Hong Kong, said.
In the past four quarters, the ascent of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies has come as institutional investors show increasing interest. Bitcoin has increased by more than 25% this month.
Bitcoin's performance has been particularly robust in the past few months - it has gained more than 80% after exceeding the previous record of $19,782.31 set in December 2017.
Analysts have been looking at far bigger figures - a recent JPMorgan Chase report suggesting that Bitcoin could rise to as much as $146,000 if investors flock to the digital currency as a safe-haven asset like gold.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin bulls have regarded it as an inflation hedge similar to gold. Skeptics view the cryptocurrency as a "speculative asset" with no intrinsic value and a market bubble that is likely to burst.
