$10,000 in sight for bitcoin as cryptocurrency rockets to new record high

Bitcoin's vertiginous ascent showed no signs of abating on Monday, with the cryptocurrency soaring to another record high just a few percent away from USD 10,000 after gaining more than a fifth in value over the past three days alone.

The digital currency has seen an eye-watering tenfold increase in its value since the start of the year and has more than doubled in value since the beginning of October, lifted by the prospect of crossing over into the financial mainstream, amid a flurry of crypto-hedge fund launches.

It surged as much as 4.5 percent on Monday to trade at USD 9,721 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange , before easing back to around USD 9,600 by 1155 GMT.