Bitcoin price surges as banks increase deposit restrictions

The Bitcoin price is surging as banks across the world are tightening their regulations to restrict its use as a currency.

Bitcoin, an online currency, surged above $10,000 for the first time on Tuesday, up more than 5 per cent from Wednesday’s close.

The cryptocurrency has risen more than 25 per cent this year.

Its price soared above $1,000 on Monday after a string of large price rises and a new rule by a United Nations agency that it is a “money transmitter”.

A senior official from the International Monetary Fund said banks were worried about the risk of a collapse in prices and it was unlikely to allow new users to use the digital currency.

“We have raised the risk that bitcoin might crash as a result of the new US regulations,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Bitcoin surged by more than $600 on Tuesday after the US government announced that it was considering imposing new restrictions on the cryptocurrency, the first such move in more than a decade.

Bitcoin is not illegal, but the US Treasury Department has proposed a series of new regulations that would make it harder to buy, sell or transfer the currency.

It is also possible that bitcoin could tumble again after the news broke.

Bitcoin was briefly worth $1.2, after the price surged past $1 at the start of the day.

But as of Monday morning, it was trading around $1 with an average price of $2,527.

Bitcoin prices are closely tracked to the US dollar, and the US has long had the highest concentration of foreign-exchange reserves in the world.

The move to ban foreign currency transactions in the US was welcomed by Bitcoiners and some economists.

“This is a welcome step toward preventing the next bubble,” said Adam White, chief executive of crypto-currency exchange Cryptsy.

“We can all breathe a sigh of relief that it has come to this.

The only downside is that it means we will now have to wait for a few more months before we can get back to normalcy.”

I’m not sure we’ll be getting any more money until the next one.

“The US Treasury said it was still considering whether to impose new regulations on bitcoin.

But a Treasury spokesman said the country’s financial regulator, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), was working with other US regulators and banks to “ensure that Bitcoin is not misused as a means of illicit financial gain”.

The UK government, too, said it is considering imposing restrictions on Bitcoin.”

The UK Government will continue to work closely with the financial sector to help mitigate risks to financial stability, and protect the value of UK assets,” the Financial Services Authority said in a statement.

The latest news comes just weeks after the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate, but there is no sign of a sharp correction.

Analysts say the US is likely to keep raising rates for another year or two.

The rise in prices was fuelled by news that US banks have been issuing more of the currency, and it also helped spur demand from some governments.”

Bitcoin’s value has surged as its popularity has grown.”

There was more liquidity and that helped the prices rise.”

Bitcoin’s value has surged as its popularity has grown.

The currency has surged more than 250 per cent since it was created in 2009.

Its market value has nearly quadrupled to $US1.8 trillion ($3.24 trillion).