The value of the growing internet currency Bitcoin surged to a record high of US$147 in reaction to the Cypriot banking crisis.
Individual Bitcoins have now reduced to around US$117 in value, but the total value of all Bitcoins in circulation is thought to be almost US$1.4 billion.
Bitcoin is a purely digital currency that is not based on any reserve or central bank.
HumanIPO published a guest post by Duncan Arthur last week which explained how Bitcoins were growing in popularity, but could be open to online abuse.
Anyone in the world with an internet connection is able to earn Bitcoins by “mining them”. Alternatively, as is being seen in Europe, people can buy them with standard currencies.
The value of a Bitcoin was at just US$13.50 in January and US$30 a month ago.
There is a 21 million limit of how many Bitcoins can be in circulation at any one time, but trades are also able to be made in fractions of Bitcoins.
An increasing number of websites are beginning to accept Bitcoins as currency from hardware sites to illegal drug sites.
