Bitcoin blows past $13,000 for the first time
- Bitcoin, the scorching-hot cryptocurrency, broke through $13,000 a coin for the first time Wednesday.
- The new milestone comes less than a day after it hit $12,000.
- The price of bitcoin is up more than 1,180% year-to-date, according to data from Markets Insider.
Bitcoin, the red-hot cryptocurrency, continued its jaw-dropping tear Wednesday, soaring above $13,000 per coin for the first time.
The new high comes less than a day after it broke through $12,000, which it did Tuesday evening in New York, according to data from Markets Insider. By 2:40 p.m. ET, bitcoin was trading as high as $13,118 a coin.
The new milestone comes ahead of the launch of bitcoin futures contracts by two major US exchanges. Cboe Global Markets, the Chicago-based options and derivatives exchange, is rolling out its bitcoin futures product Sunday. Its rival, CME Group, is launching its product later in December. Bitcoin futures, which will allow investors to bet on the future price of the digital coin, are a sign of the eight-year-old coin's maturation.
Bitcoin is up an eye-popping 1,180% year-to-date.