Update: Bitcoin Smashes Through $10,000 To Fresh All-time High

CNBC reported a sudden spike in Bitcoin on Tuesday night where it sailed past the $10,000 milestone to reach $10,831.75, representing more than a 10% jump from its price of around $9,830 just 24 hours earlier.

This also comes just days after it passed through the $9,000 mark on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange.

At time of writing (1 December), the cryptocurrency was trading at $9,985.

Bitcoin prices have jumped 45% in the last two weeks alone, while soaring 918% since the end of 2016 when it was trading at just $952. However, pricing of the virtual currency is notoriously volatile.

The recent surge in prices has been driven by the world's largest derivatives exchange operator CME Group last week announcing it would start offering Bitcoin futures as early as December, according to Bloomberg.

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However, there has been some concern about Bitcoin's rise with BoE deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe telling BBC Radio 5 Live this morning: "This is not a currency in the accepted sense. There is no central bank that stands behind it. For me it is much more like a commodity.

"This is not at a size where it is a macroeconomic risk to the global economy, but when prices are moving like that, my view would be investors need to do their homework."

Thomas Glucksmann, Hong Kong-based head of marketing at cryptocurrency exchange Gatecoin, told Bloomberg: "The weekend's Bitcoin price hike is just the continuation of a long-term bull run on the cryptocurrency, fuelled by the tsunami of speculative trading on Japanese exchanges and the entrance of institutional investors across the world."

Bitcoin has witnessed a mixed reaction from the asset management industry, with some claiming the cryptocurrency is simply a dangerous bubble while others have pointed to its diversification benefits.

JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon said he would fire anyone trading Bitcoin for being "stupid", claiming it would eventually blow up.

"I would fire [any employee] in a second," Dimon told Bloomberg. "For two reasons: It is against our rules, and they are stupid. And both are dangerous."

However, anti-benchmark asset manager TOBAM launched the TOBAM Bitcoin fund last week, which will be an unregulated alternative investment fund for investors who want to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency.

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Bitcoin's market cap currently stands at $150bn while the total of all digital currencies is $300bn, according to Coinmarketcap.com.