Bitcoin Reaches $2.7 Billion Market Cap

The peer-to-peer currency Bitcoin reached a record market cap of $2.7 billion Monday, exceeding an all-time high valuation that astonished traders six months ago.

The market price of a Bitcoin reached $235 U.S dollars Monday, with about 11.9 million Bitcoins in circulation, according to blockchain.info. The low trade price for the day was 231 USD, with a high of 236 at about 2:45 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, according to mtgox.com.

The currency is gaining popularity this quarter primarily because more people know it exists. In October, U.S. federal agents seized about $30 million U.S. dollars worth of Bitcoins from a man who masterminded a site called The Silk Road, which was used for illegal activities such as purchasing drugs and hiring people to commit murder. It was one of the few sites based in the U.S. that accepted Bitcoins. 19 brick and mortar stores accept the currency in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to coinmap.org.

The Silk Road confiscation was one of the fattest electronic wallets ever seized since Bitcoin’s genesis in January 2009. (The actual value of the confiscated wallet differs depending on the day you calculate its value.)

The last time the currency traded at this price in the U.S. was in April 2013.  The global cap on Bitcoins that can be extracted is 21 million.

Do you know of a local merchant that accepts Bitcoins? Tell us in the comments, so we can add them to our map.