Bitcoin surges above $10,000 for first time since 2018

Mubasher: Bitcoin smashed through the $11,000 mark on Monday, reaching its highest level seen since more than 15 months, as the crypto project announced by Facebook brought digital currencies back into the spotlight, CNBC reported.

The crypto coin tapped an intraday peak of $11,307.69 around 5:30 am Hong Kong time on Monday (9:30 pm GMT Sunday), the news outlet cited Coindesk’s Bitcoin price index, which covers the price of the currency across various exchanges.

This marked the highest level recorded since 5 March 2018.

However, later on, by 10:30 am Hong Kong time (2:30 am GMT), bitcoin pared some gains a nearly $10,624.10.

The price of the world's largest digital currency by market, dropped over the course of last year, and through this year when it sank to the low-to-mid $3,000 mark.

However, since late February, bitcoin had been rallying again, as big companies announced cryptocurrency-related projects, the latest of which was Facebook’s Libra currency.

“The price surge is due to two major factors, one is an increasing consensus among the investment community that bitcoin is a legitimate store of value for the digital age, and two Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency launch has forced every CEO to take crypto seriously,” blockchain start-up investor Kenetic Capital co-founder Jehan Chu told CNBC.

However, concerns were raised about Facebook’s Libra, as some critics raised doubts about using it as a form of surveillance and data gathering tool.