The price of bitcoin topped 100,000 U.S. dollars for the first time on Wednesday, and traded at around 103,000 dollars at 8:54 a.m. ET Thursday, U.S. media reported.

The cryptocurrency officially rose to six figures Wednesday night, just hours after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he intended to nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to be the next chair the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Since Trump won the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5, bitcoin has surged more than 45 percent, and year to date, prices have more than doubled, NBC News reported.

"The asset climbed from 69,374 dollars on Election Day, hitting as high as 103,713 dollars on Wednesday, according to CoinDesk. Just two years ago, bitcoin dropped below 17,000 dollars following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX," The Associated Press reported.

In basic terms, cryptocurrency is digital money. This kind of currency is designed to work through an online network without a central authority -- meaning it's typically not backed by any government or banking institution -- and transactions get recorded with technology called a blockchain.

Bitcoin is the largest and oldest cryptocurrency, although other assets like ethereum, tether and dogecoin have also gained popularity over the years. Some investors see cryptocurrency as a "digital alternative" to traditional money, but the large majority of daily financial transactions are still conducted using fiat currencies such as the dollar, according to the Associated Press report.

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)