Bitcoin soars past $40,000 for the first time

The price of the cryptocurrency bitcoin soared past $40,000 for the first time on Thursday, rising $10,000 in just five days.

The price of bitcoin was $40,380 at roughly 1820 GMT, having jumped 10.4 per cent during the trading session.

The cryptocurrency, which has known wild swings in value, passed $30,000 for the first time just on Saturday.

“Investors continue to hop on the cryptocurrency train which appears to be gaining more interest now that the US economy is poised to deliver more stimulus in Biden’s first 100 days,” said market analyst Edward Moya at currency trading platform Oanda.

Just 12 years old, bitcoin has seen a meteoric rise since March, when it stood at $5,000, spurred by online payments giant PayPal saying it would enable account holders to use cryptocurrency.