Bitcoin claims 20 pct high level touching $5000 mark

Bitcoin briefly touched $5,000 on Tuesday, its highest level since late November, while other cryptocurrencies also surged. On the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, Bitcoin rose as much as 20 per cent in Asian trading to briefly touch the $5,000 mark before settling at $4,730 by 0700 GMT, up 14 per cent on the day; still its biggest one-day gain since April of last year.

Ethereum's ether and Ripple's XRP, two other large cryptocurrencies, also jumped higher. It was not immediately clear what was behind the rally in virtual currency prices.