The price of Bitcoin rose above $10,000 for the first time since early 2018, a new milestone in the history of the virtual currency for 2019.
The price has tripled since last December when it was around $3,200. This happened after a sharp decline, when it had reached $19,500 in December 2017.
As always, it's hard to say what's causing the changes in bitcoin's price. But one obvious reason could be Facebook's announcement of its own virtual currency, called Libra, earlier this week.
Libra may be a bitcoin competitor, but its announcement brings additional legitimacy to the overall cryptocurrency market.
Also, as the world's most valuable cryptocurrency, bitcoin often serves as a medium of exchange between other cryptocurrencies – just as the US dollar is used as a reference for global trade.
Thus, the launch of the new digital currency by Facebook next year could boost the value of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin's rise is part of a broader cryptocurrency boom. Ether, the currency of the Ethereum network, is now worth more than $290, a record for 2019. Meanwhile, digital currencies Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Monero, and Dash are all at their highest prices of 2019.
