Bitcoin is an innovative payment network and a new kind of money.
Virtual currency Bitcoin hit a record high of $9,700 after jumping 4.5% so far on Monday.
The move takes it to 20% above the level it stood at on Friday, according to the Luxembourg-based Bitcoin exchange, Bitstamp.It started the year at around $1,000.
Virtual currencies are largely unregulated and bypass traditional banking systems. Their growth is of increasing concern to international regulators.
China and South Korea have banned any new virtual currency launches and have been shutting down exchanges on which they are traded.
Currencies such as Bitcoin use blockchain, which is an online ledger of transactions maintained by a network of anonymous computers on the internet.
They are not backed by any government, nor central bank and therefore there is no-one responsible for backing their value.
The world's leading derivatives exchange, the CME, said recently it planned to offer trading in Bitcoin futures in the near future, although it has not yet set a date.
The potential involvement of CME has spurred the price of Bitcoin higher.