The price of Bitcoin has hit the $1,000 mark following a booming 2016 where it climbed around 120% from the start of the year until eventually hitting a three-year high.
Factors including the devaluation of the yuan, the risk of currency controls in China, and geo-political instability have been acknowledged as pivotal to the crypto-currency’s success. Another reason for Bitcoin’s banner year could be its staying power—the longer it’s around, the less it seems like a novelty and more like a bona fide store of value.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $1,018, a level not seen since November 2013. The price got a big boost after Donald Trump won November’s U.S. presidential election, CNBC reports.
“Bitcoin is a healthy reminder that we don’t have to hold on to dollars or renminbi, which is subject to capital controls and loss of purchasing power. Rather it’s a new asset class,” Bobby Lee, the chief executive of BTC China, one of the world’s largest bitcoin exchanges, told CNBC.