Bitcoin has been pushing steadily closer to $20,000, but has failed to reach this key milestone. The world's largest digital currency by market capitalization (market cap) has risen to as much as $19,783.21 on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI). After nearing the $20,000 mark, the digital currency's price fell back, dropping to as little as $18,791.76 later in the day, additional BPI figures show. Bitcoin has broken through several key price levels this year, surpassing $5,000, $10,000 and more recently $15,000. Bitcoin FuturesMore recently, market observers have started singling out Bitcoin futures as being a major factor driving the digital currency's price higher.

Source: Forbes December 17, 2017 21:33 UTC