Bitcoin’s bull run sends digital currency past $3,000 milestone

For the first time in history, digital currency bitcoin has crossed the $3,000 threshold on Sunday.

The cryptocurrency’s steady advance towards record territory continued over the weekend, when it climbed to a new all-time high of $3,012.05, according to CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index (BPI). On Bitfinex, bitcoin traded at a lower $3,003, while on Chinese exchange OKCoin, the digital currency traded at a higher $3,185.66.

Increased demand from investors in Asia has helped bitcoin’s run-up that began in May, when the price of the digital currency hit $1,880 amid reports of brewing political scandals in the United States and Brazil.

Since then, bitcoin has powered through the $2,000 barrier, which analysts chalked up to several factors, most notably the increased demand from investors in Japan and China. Last week, bitcoin surpassed the all-time high of $2,760.10 recorded in late May as major Chinese digital currency exchanges resumed cryptocurrency withdrawals on their respective platforms.