LONDON, April 2 — Bitcoin briefly touched US$5,000 (RM20,420) today, 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 US$5,000 mark before settling at US$4,730 by 0700 GMT (3pm Malaysia Time), 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. — Reuters