Bitcoin inching to $20,000

Top virtual currency bitcoin briefly soared to a new high Monday, heading towards $20,000 per unit.

The currency soared past its previous high of $19,783 to hit 19,800 with some sector analysts forecasting it will soon breach the 20,000 resistance point.

Debate has raged over the status of the digital asset, launched in late 2008, as to whether it should be seen as a form of money, an asset or a commodity.

Monday saw it rise some eight percent, taking its yearly rise past 150 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, a far cry from the few cents it traded at in its early days which followed on the heels of the global financial crash.

In March it stood at just $5,000.

The unit, which regularly sees its value suffer wild swings, had slipped back to $19,380 by mid afternoon, for a day rise of 6.5 percent, leaving its total market capitalization at around $360 billion.

Since October the ‘digital gold’ has risen some 40 percent, spurred notably by PayPal online payments giant saying it would enable account holders to use cryptocurrency.