Bitcoin hit a new record high after smashing through the $8,000 level for the first time over the weekend, marking an almost 50% climb in just eight days.
The new high came after leading US payments company Square said late last week that it had started allowing select customers to buy and sell bitcoins on its Cash app.
Bitcoin traded as high as $8,197.81 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, up over 2% on the day and around 48% up since dipping to $5,555 on November 12.
An eye-watering eightfold increase in the value of the volatile cryptocurrency since the start of the year has led to muliple warnings that the market is in a bubble and institutional investors are broadly staying away.
Retail investors, however, as well as some hedge funds and family offices, are piling into the market. The "market cap" of all cryptocurrencies has hit an all-time high of over $242 billion, according to trade website Coinmarketcap.
