Bitcoin Triples Since Start of Year to Flirt With $3,000: Chart

(Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin rose as much as 5.8 percent to an all-time intraday high of $2,999.98. The virtual currency has tripled its value since the beginning of the year amid greater acceptance of the blockchain technology that underpins the exchange method, global political uncertainty and increased interest in Asia. Skeptics have said that there may be a bubble in the making as bitcoin has repeatedly broken records without showing signs of slowing.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dave Liedtka in New York at dliedtka@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Dave Liedtka