The value of bitcoin is falling again, after a recent recovery saw it rise just above the $17,000 mark.
After hitting a record high when it passed the $19,850 mark in mid-December, the cryptocurrency tumbled rapidly, falling to below $12,000 within days.
It kept rising and falling unpredictably over the following weeks, but rose steadily after the turn of the year.
It is worth $15,521 as of midday on Monday UK time, according to the Coinbase exchange.
That’s a significant improvement on where it was at the beginning of the month, when it almost slipped below the $13,000 mark. However, late on Saturday it had been worth more than $17,080.
Its value is down less than one per cent from last month but up more than 1,600 per cent over the last year, though recent goings-on have demonstrated just how quickly the situation can change.
The cryptocurrency’s value plummeted ahead of Christmas, dropping by almost $2,000 in just an hour at one point, and almost slipping below the $11,000 mark.
Bitcoin is notoriously volatile, and its value is expected to continue to shift unpredictably.
Its rise has also led to increasing amounts of interest in alternative cryptocurrencies, such as ethereum, litecoin and XRP.
Naturally, its spectacular rise has coincided with increasing amounts of interest, with more and more people now looking to invest.
However, there are serious fears that bitcoin has created a bubble that could burst at any moment.
Numerous financial experts are advising potential investors to avoid getting involved with bitcoin, and the SEC has told people to “exercise caution” and be wary of scammers.
However, others are speculating that it could keep rising towards the $1m mark.
Bitcoin only exists online, has no central bank and isn’t linked to or regulated by any state.
An anonymised record of every bitcoin transaction is stored on a huge public ledger known as a blockchain.
However, transactions made with the cryptocurrency are irreversible, which makes investors in bitcoin attractive targets for cybercriminals.
This article is being regularly updated to reflect bitcoin’s latest value.
