The price of bitcoin has risen sharply, exceeding the $3,200 level for the first time on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI).
The market advance began after 1:00 UTC, when the price of bitcoin climbed above $2,900, market data shows, crossing the $3,000 line around 3:12 UTC.
Markets hit a high of $3,216.02, according to the BPI, and at press time are currently trading at an average of $3,154.94. Per the BPI, bitcoin's price hasn't been above the $3,000 level since June 12.
The price advance also pushed bitcoin’s collective market capitalization past the $50 billion mark for the first time. According to the BPI, bitcoin’s market cap is around $52.35 billion at press time.
As might be expected, market volumes jumped along with the price. Data from Bitcoinity shows more trade volume during the past several hours than at any other point during the past week.