BITCOIN ON A BENDER

$tupefying ascent

Bitcoin continued its incredible and volatile rise to new heights on Thursday — even as hackers broke into one company and made off with about $70 million of the cryptocurrency.

The 8-year-old digital asset, which was trading for under $2,000 in the spring, soared past $19,000 for a brief period on Thursday afternoon, according to Coinbase exchange — less than 24 hours after it first topped $14,000.

But by 7:20 p.m., bitcoin prices on Coindesk had eased to $16,903.

The gyrations are certainly not for the faint of heart.

The company hacked, NiceHash, a bitcoin mining company, said late Wednesday that its payment system was “compromised” and that contents of its bitcoin wallet were stolen.

As of late Thursday a posting on the Slovenian company’s home page said it was stopping all operations for 24 hours to fully gauge the impact of the hack..

Wall Street, meanwhile, was mystified by bitcoin’s rapid moves.

“I’ve been taken aback by the last few weeks — and the last few hours, “Richard Johnson, an analyst at Greenwhich Associates told The Post on Thursday afternoon.

Bitcoin has gone “from an era of denial and mistrust, and now everyone is sorting out how this works and how to make money,” Mark New- ton, technical market analyst of Newton Advisors, told The Post.

And many have made money this year — at least in their so-called digital wallets.

Bitcoin crossed $2,000 for the first time only 7 months ago, taking nearly three and a half years to make the jump from $1,000 to $2,000.

“Once bitcoin broke out above $1,137, the former highs from November 2013, it began to accelerate in a parabolic fashion,” Newton said.

Bitcoin’s price is also spiking because it becomes increasingly difficult to mine coins as demand increases.

And there is plenty of demand as the currency captures headlines.

Bitcoin will begin trading on futures markets on Sunday evening, a move that may give the cryptocurrency more “legitimacy,” said Ihor Dusaniwsky of financial analytics firm at S3 Partners.

“Investors are looking to get long before the opening bell rings on the 10th in Chicago,” Dusaniwsky said. “Even Goldman Sachs jumped into the fray by announcing they will clear bitcoin futures for their clients.”

That may have also encouraged others to join in as well.

“The sudden and dramatic move is creating an even more aggressive feeding frenzy as more and more investors that have been sitting on the fence are now jumping in because of FOMO [fear of missing out],” Dusaniwsky said.