The flagship cryptocurrency is currently trading at $35,526 (£26,041), as of 6.30pm GMT, CoinDesk.com data indicates.

Trade in the cryptosphere had hit record levels in the past five months.

Bitcoin blazed a trail, rapidly-rising by 230 percent in that period alone.

This witnessed BTC reaching a record value of more than $41,000 (£30,050) on Saturday, January 8.

And co-called altcoins, such as ethereum, gained 217 percent, prompting a number of prominent investors to warn about the dangers of speculative bubbles.