2017.11.2022:22:00UTC+00Bitcoin Scales Record High after Smashing $8, 000 Mark

Bitcoin reached a new historic high after trading past the $8, 000 level for the first time over the weekend, recording an almost 50 percent jump in just eight days.

The new record high came after U.S. payment processor Square Inc. announce late last week that it has started to test buying and selling of bitcoins on its Cash app.

The digital currency traded as high as $8, 197.81 on the Bitstamp exchange, higher by 2 percent on the day and around 48 percent higher from its drop to $5,555 on November 12.

A exponential eightfold surge in the value of the volatile cryptocurrency since the start of 2017 has resulted in several warnings that the market is showing the characteristics of a bubble, and institutional investors are mostly keeping their hands of the digital currency market.

However, retail investors, including some hedge funds and family offices, are entering the market. The market valuation of all digital currencies in circulation reached an all-time peak of more than $242 billion on Monday, Coinmarketcap data showed.