From becoming a legal currency in Japan to being vulnerable to hacks, here are five things to know about bitcoin. (Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post)
Bitcoin has been giving the Republican tax plan a run for its money when it comes to who has been dominating the news over the past week.
As of Jan. 1, the cryptocurrency was trading at $960.79 per coin. Around 4 p.m. Monday, it was selling in the $11,500 range, an increase of more than 10 times in less than a year.
The cryptocurrency joined the financial world’s mainstream last week when Chicago-based CME Group and the Chicago Board Options Exchange received approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to begin trading bitcoin.