The price of Bitcoin has gone up about 30 per cent in the last week - from roughly $US29,000 last Wednesday to around $US38,000 a coin today.

A global media report which said Amazon was considering accepting Bitcoin on its platform pushed up the price.

However, Amazon quickly put out a statement denying the report.

There were also stories about the treasury secretary in the United Kingdom wanting to launch a British cryptocurrency, or ‘Britcoin’, to back up the pound sterling.

This also pushed up the price of Bitcoin because in the eyes of some it legitimised it as a currency many countries would be willing to use.

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