For the first time in three years, bitcoin is back over $1,000.
The popular digital currency kicked off the new year by jumping 2.5 percent to $1,022 on Europe-based Bitstamp exchange on Sunday—it’s highest since December 2013. That price was still shy of the $1,137 record it achieved in late 2013 before a hack on the now infamous Mt. Gox exchange saw bitcoin’s price plunge to under $400.
Bitcoin’s weekend milestone marks a vibrant 2017 beginning for the cryptocurrency. This year, analysts expect the digital currency to ramp up another 165 percent and hit over $2,000, thanks to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s “spending binge.”
Trading experts chalked up the recent surge in bitcoin’s price to the increasing demand from buyers, who sought alternative assets following the shooting death of Russia’s envoy to Turkey as well as the attack that left 12 people dead in Berlin. China, where majority of trading occurs, also saw an increase in demand for bitcoin as the pressure on the Chinese yuan weakens. India’s demonetization efforts and recent crackdowns on moving money abroad have also prompted a massive adoption of the cryptoccurency in the country.