Bitcoin shot above $3,000 to a record high of $3,360.87, more than tripling in value for the year. The gains came despite this week's split in the digital currency into bitcoin and bitcoin cash. Bitcoin cash, which trades at a fraction of bitcoin's price, fell further Saturday amid a hack on its network.
hack on the new currency's network.
Bitcoin with a market capitalization of more than $54 billion.
The digital currency has now more than tripled in value for the year, and gained about 15 percent in the first few days of August. Bitcoin has broken free of the trading range it's held ever since reaching its prior record of $3,025 in mid-June.
Ari Paul, CIO of BlockTower Capital, attributed the gains to a relief rally after a "relatively uneventful" split, as well as new investors buying bitcoin.
"With SegWit activation and the hard fork in the rear view mirror, bitcoin buyers see a smooth road ahead for the next two months," he told CNBC in an email, referring to a more popular upgrade proposal called Segregated Witness.