In a massive rebound from a 20% plunge last week, bitcoin surged Sunday to a record high above $11,700 U.S.
The digital currency hit an all-time high of $11,773.83, up 8% on the day, according to CoinDesk. That's 30.5%, or nearly $2,753, from a low of $9,021.85 hit Thursday.
The rapid recovery is the latest in bitcoin's wild swings. The cryptocurrency had crossed the closely watched $10,000 figure Tuesday and topped $11,000 Wednesday, only to drop more than $1,000 in a few hours amid high trading volume that exchanges initially struggled to keep up with.
Last Monday, former Fortress hedge fund manager Michael Novogratz predicted that bitcoin could "easily" be at $40,000 at the end of 2018. But Novogratz said Tuesday at CoinDesk's Consensus Invest conference that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are "going to be the biggest bubble of our lifetimes."
Bitcoin trading in Japanese yen accounted for about 58% of trading volume, while U.S. dollar-bitcoin trading accounted for about 23%, according to CryptoCompare.
The bitcoin offshoot, bitcoin cash, also jumped nearly 13% Sunday, to $1,606.06 U.S., according to CoinMarketCap. Digital currency ethereum rose more than 3.5% to $480.00 U.S.
Bitcoin's rapid gains mean that twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of the Gemini digital currency exchange, are likely the first well-known bitcoin billionaires.
The twins together had $11 million U.S. in bitcoin at $120 a coin in April 2013. With bitcoin above $11,700, that holding is now worth just over $1 billion U.S.
