Bitcoin hits $12,000 for first time

Bitcoin.
(Image credit: George Frey/Getty Images)

Bitcoin surged to another record high on Wednesday, reaching the $12,000 milestone for the first time as runaway demand for the cryptocurrency continued. Bitcoin, which started the year below $1,000, has been lifted this week by Friday's announcement by federal regulators that they would let CME Group Inc and CBOE Global Markets list bitcoin futures contracts. The move fueled optimism among investors about broader mainstream use of cryptocurrencies despite warnings by some financial experts that their meteoric rise signals a bubble that could soon burst.

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Harold Maass

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at TheWeek.com. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 launch of the U.S. print edition. Harold has worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, Fox News, and ABC News. For several years, he wrote a daily round-up of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and two sons.