Bitcoin is well known for its wild swings in value by now, but there could be more behind this latest spike than meets the eye, writes Tom Wilson.

In early 2013, the website BitcoinTalk asked users to select a slogan for the embryonic cryptocurrency. The winner was ‘magic internet money’, with runners-up ‘in crypto we trust’ and ‘you asked for change, we gave you coins’.

The Criminal Assets Bureau has seen a growing trend of criminals using crypto-currencies to transfer ill-gotten assets and to facilitate international fraud.

Bitcoin tested 15-month highs, yesterday, after jumping more than 10% over the weekend, with analysts ascribing the spike to growing optimism over the adoption of cryptocurrencies after Facebook unveiled its Libra digital coin.

The surge in Bitcoin has seen values soar more than 16-fold this year alone to above $17,000. But what is it, where did it come from, how does it work and what does the future hold?

The comfort zone gets a lot of bad press. Why? The comfort zone is such a nice place. It fits us perfectly, says Colm O'Regan.

Bitcoin tumbled the most since July after China’s central bank said initial coin offerings are illegal and asked all related fundraising activity to be halted immediately, issuing the strongest regulatory challenge so far to the burgeoning market for digital token sales.

Pity Welshman James Howells. Back in 2009, when Bitcoin was in its infancy, the IT worker ‘mined’ 7,500 Bitcoins on his home computer.

In this week’s Q&A, Kehlan Kirwin talks with Peter and James Nagle from Bitcove. Bitcove is aiming to make it easy and quicker for people to transfer money using bitcoin.

Cryptocurrency

In May 1954, English runner Roger Bannister broke the seemingly impenetrable barrier of the sub-four-minute mile, a month after his rival John Landy proclaimed it to be impossible.

The much-maligned digital cash Bitcoin is on course to revolutionise global trading in the same way email, MP3s and digital photography flipped lifestyles and industries on their head, supporters have claimed.

A new generation of computer hackers are set to target smartphones and televisions, games consoles and even smart cars, a leading IT security company has warned.

The tranquility of Glen Park public library, in San Francisco, was disrupted last week by half a dozen FBI agents descending on the science-fiction section, where nerds congregate to read their emails on the free Wi-Fi.

A Bitcoin trade group will meet today with the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and an array of law-enforcement officials and regulators to discuss oversight of the digital currency.