Bitcoin tops $17,000 for first time since December 2017

Bitcoin reached $17,000 for the first time since just after the burst of the cryptocurrency bubble almost three years ago.

The largest digital coin, which has more than doubled this year, rose as much as 2.2% to $17,067 on Tuesday in New York trading. From an all-time high in December 2017 of nearly $20,000, Bitcoin tumbled to as low as $3,136 within a year.

“Bitcoin mania is back,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda. “Bitcoin easily broke past $17,000 and everyone now has their eyes on the $20,000 level, which could trigger some selling.”