Bitcoin tops $1,000 for first time since 2013

Bitcoin’s value is slowing climbing, and has exceeded the $1,000/ea valuation for the first time in about three years. Bitcoin reached its highest value at $1,200 back in 2013, which set the standards of just how far and fast a form of currency could go, Phys.org reports. Now, the digital unit is close to clinching or even surpassing this number as it rocketed past the $1,000 ceiling on Sunday. The currency is largely used for online purchases in which anonymity is important, though it is increasingly being accepted by mainstream retailers, too.

Created in 2009, bitcoin was invented as an alternative to the world's paper currencies because it isn't tied to any physical assets or controlled by any country's central bank. It's pitched as an alternative to the fiat money system and is admired for its ability to easily transfer money without detection or interference from governments or multinational corporations.

"The growing war on cash, and capital controls, is making bitcoin look like a viable, if high risk, alternative," Paul Gordon of digital currency firm Quantave told Reuters.

Bitcoin remains popular as a way to sidestep the trickiness of cash and the restrictions and lack of privacy of traditional digital payments. On the less notable end of the spectrum is Bitcoin’s vital role in the modern dark net drug markets, however, the cryptocurrency is also used to make purchases in places where items may be heavily restricted or to get around traditional financial hurdles.

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