Cryptocurrency appeared in 2009 with the launch of Bitcoin, created by Satoshi Nakamoto (an anonymous group or person). This digital cash system uses a technology called blockchain, that stores transaction data accurately and transparently, which can be publicly accessed by anyone.

The price of Bitcoin has shot up today to reach the $17,000 mark—a figure not seen since January 2018. It's up 4% today. Bitcoin's price has continued to surge over the last few months, rising up from $10,000 in early September to its current value—an increase of 70%.

The website and mobile app of U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase are down as bitcoin is nearing $17,000.

Bitcoin, the world's best-known cryptocurrency, has jumped above $17,000 (£12,800) to hit a three-year high. The digital currency has suffered plenty of wild price swings since it was launched in 2009. But investors have been flocking to cryptocurrencies during the pandemic-driven volatility on global stock markets.

Paypal now lets you buy and sell cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Paypal's FAQ reveals some big shortcomings to its cryptocurrency offerings.

PayPal will initially support Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin.

The latest mining difficulty adjustment for Bitcoin has seen the major cryptocurrency fall a staggering 16 percent — representing the largest fall in nine years. Its largest percentage decrease since the advent of ASIC mining machines in late 2012.

Bitcoin has been on a roll over the past few days, and it seems as if the cryptocurrency finally managed to breach the $14,000 level decisively. What is more interesting, though, is that interest from retail investors doesn’t seem to be anywhere near its peak from back in 2017.

Speculation kicked off after someone moved the huge sum on Tuesday, and now we know who it was: the U.S. government.

The end of the month concludes with the NASDAQ sliding by 2.45% while Twitter took a massive blow of -21.11%. Gold traded sideways…

The mysterious online wallet is said to be the world's fourth-richest Bitcoin address.

PayPal has partnered with cryptocurrency company Paxos to launch a new service. PayPal users in the U.S. will soon be able to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies. More countries are coming soon. PayPal plans to support Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin at first.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones believes that investing in Bitcoin draws strong parallels to early investors in tech firms like Google and Apple. In an interview on CNBC’s Squawkbox on October 22, the American hedge fund manager and philanthropist said that Bitcoin could well be at the start of a very fortuitous period and might be an excellent hedge against rising inflation.

The U.K. hearing of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s U.S. extradition on the week of February 24, 2020, presented a test of Western liberal democracy. The indictment of Assange under the Espionage Act for publishing classified documents which exposed U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan is recognized by free speech groups as an unprecedented attack on the First Amendment.

MicroStrategy CEO, Michael Saylor made the waves in August when he decided to convert $425 million of his company’s cash reserves into Bitcoin. However, he has now disclosed that he personally holds 17,732 BTC (appr. $175 million) acquired at an average price of $9,882. The company was aware of these holdings before deciding to approve his request for company holdings to also be invested in Bitcoin.

They can't stop you buying Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, but they can ban almost anything based on its price being sold to people in the UK by firms operating here

‘Tokenisation’ would allow a crypto asset to represent single securities like ETFs

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency traders are searching for direction, with the market more-or-less treading water since the summer. The bitcoin price, hovering around $11,400 per bitcoin, has been trading broadly in line with equity markets in recent months—with groundbreaking announcements, including payments company Square SQ +0.7% buying bitcoin, failing to much move the market.

News broke this morning that PayPal, the company that kickstarted the online money transfer industry, will start allowing users to buy Bitcoin via its app and website. Some have hailed the move as a decisive moment for Bitcoin adoption and cryptocurrency markets have responded favorably, with the price of BTC briefly hitting $13,000 today. But others think PayPal's forthcoming feature is a bad look for the world’s largest cryptocurrency, primarily because of what it lacks.

Compiled by entrepreneur and market commentator Alistair Milne, exchange rate figures show that at this week’s highs, Bitcoin was worth more in seven currencies than ever before.