Bitcoin is rising in value after Chinese investors bought into the virtual currency pushing the price to its highest level in two years on Sunday morning.
Chinese investors in fear of a slowing economy and anticipated capital controls are expanding their portfolios into digital currency.
The government is concerned about capital flight.
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RT reports:
The cryptocurrency hit $660, according to OKCoin, up from $436 on May 19 and 225 percent in the past 12 months.
Bitcoin now has a market cap of over US$10 Billion, placing it above Twitter which stands at $9.77 billion.
The virtual currency peaked at $1,100 in November 2013, only to fall below $180 in early 2015.
Bitcoin up 225% trough to peak over the past 12 months! pic.twitter.com/j0UxyZWQyx
— Pierre Rochard (@pierre_rochard) June 12, 2016
#Bitcoin now has a larger market cap than Twitter pic.twitter.com/rU2b9cKX3F
— Dennis Ƀinnekade (@Xentagz) June 12, 2016
Bitcoin now has a larger market cap than Twitter! Let that sink in for a moment. https://t.co/HWphoJZVT4
— /r/Bitcoin (@RedditBTC) June 12, 2016
Bitcoin just broke its 2-year record closing in on $650 😳https://t.co/ODFeN3LBZa pic.twitter.com/OOaKtyfPfc
— levels (@levelsio) June 12, 2016
@WhalePanda the first 10 billion is the hardest, now it should be smooth sailing to 100 billion right? 😉 #bulltard
— WhalePanda (@WhalePanda) June 12, 2016
This massive overnight boost is being attributed to Chinese investors who appear to be concerned about a weakening Yuan.
Around 95 percent of all bitcoin is done via Chinese exchanges, according to Reuters, and this latest spike is thought to be driven by fears that China’s economy is slowing and people diversifying some of the $22 trillion that is resting in the country’s deposits.
2013 why is #bitcoin going crazy? China! 2016 why is #bitcoin going crazy? China!
— Alex Amsel (@Alex_Amsel) June 12, 2016
2013 why is #bitcoin going crazy? China! 2016 why is #bitcoin going crazy? China!
— Alex Amsel (@Alex_Amsel) June 12, 2016
Worried the Chinese government may introduce some form of capital controls in an attempt to prevent billions or trillions of dollars from disappearing from the economy, buying Bitcoin is a preemptive move by some investors.