tradeTokyo, Dec 7 (AP) Bitcoin surged past USD 17,000 today asthe frenzy surrounding the virtual currency escalated justdays before it starts trading on major US exchanges.
Bitcoin has gained more than USD 5,000 in just the pasttwo days.
At the same time, there are fresh concerns about thesecurity of bitcoin and other virtual currencies afterNiceHash, a company that mines bitcoins on behalf ofcustomers, said it is investigating a breach that may haveresulted in the theft of about USD 70 million worth ofbitcoin.
Research company Coindesk said that a wallet addressreferred to by NiceHash users indicates that about 4,700bitcoins had been stolen.
NiceHash said it will stop operating for 24 hours whileit verifies how many bitcoins were taken. Wallet is a nicknamefor an online account.
As of 11:15 am EST, bitcoin was valued at USD 17,482,according to Coinbase, the largest bitcoin exchange.
At the start of the year, one bitcoin was worth less thanUSD 1,000.
The surge in the price and the hack of NiceHash occurredjust as the trading community prepares for bitcoin to starttrading on two established US exchanges.
Futures for bitcoin will start trading on the ChicagoBoard Options Exchange on Sunday evening and on crosstownrival CME Group's platforms later in the month.
That has increased the sense among some investors thatbitcoin is gaining in mainstream legitimacy after severalcountries, like China, tried to stifle the virtual currency.
Bitcoin is the world's most popular virtual currency.
Such currencies are not tied to a bank or government and allowusers to spend money anonymously. They are basically lines ofcomputer code that are digitally signed each time they aretraded.
A debate is raging on the merits of such currencies. Somesay they serve merely to facilitate money laundering andillicit, anonymous payments. Others say they can be helpfulmethods of payment, such as in crisis situations wherenational currencies have collapsed.
Miners of bitcoins and other virtual currencies help keepthe systems honest by having their computers keep a globalrunning tally of transactions. That prevents cheaters fromspending the same digital coin twice.
Online security is a vital concern for such dealings.
In Japan, following the failure of a bitcoin exchange calledMt Gox, new laws were enacted to regulate bitcoin and othervirtual currencies.
Mt Gox shut down in February 2014, saying it lost about850,000 bitcoins, possibly to hackers.
NiceHash did not respond to an emailed request for moredetails about the breach.
"The incident has been reported to the relevantauthorities and law enforcement and we are cooperating withthem as a matter of urgency," it said in a statement, where italso urged users to change their online passwords. (AP)NSA.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.