The new age cryptocurrency bitcoin which has been on a record-breaking bull run has done it again, hitting $11,700. The digital currency broke through both $10,000 and $11,000 levels this week for the first time.
The cryptocurrency has been smashing symbolic price barriers every few days, slightly retreating at times but accelerating to reach dizzying new heights.
Bitcoin's rise in value has been unprecedented in 2017, starting from below $1,000 on January 1. It is now up more than 12-fold for the year.
The dramatic rise of bitcoin has sparked analogies to past bubbles, from the tulip mania of the 17th century to the dotcom boom and bust at the turn of the millennium. Some experts and investors have been warning the cryptocurrency was also a growing bubble that could burst at any moment.
Others, like the head of the Russian Association of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency (RACIB) Yury Pripachkin, predicts the cryptocurrency could hit $20,000 by the start of 2018.
Bitcoin investment guru Michael Novogratz said the virtual currency will continue its unstoppable rally, quadrupling in price from the current record highs during the next 13 months.