The price of bitcoin continues to rise, setting a fresh record high.The price for one bitcoin is now worth more than one ounce of gold, but this is less significant than it may seem, say experts.Gold and bitcoin prices crossed overnight.The crypto currency has set a fresh record high of $1,290.13, while a gold ounce currently trades around $1,228.Part of the reason for the switch is that gold has had a rough week.The price for the precious metal has fallen more than 2 percent this week, due to the strengthening dollar and several indications from members of the Federal Reserve hinting towards a potential interest rate hike in March.Meanwhile, the price for the digital currency is up more than 7 percent this week.A recent regulatory clamp down by the People's Bank of Chinahas proven beneficial for bitcoin.Speculation around an imminent decision by the U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission on whether it will approve a bitcoin-based ETF (exchange traded fund) has also created heavy buying pressure.

Looking more broadly, bitcoin has enjoyed a stellar recovery over the past 12 months, climbing more than 214 percent from a low level of $407.98 last March.In contrast, the price for gold has fallen 1 percent over the past 12 months.Gold prices fell heavily following the result of the U.S.election, but have been recovering steadily since mid-December.However, while bitcoin prices are climbing, the digital currency has a much lower market cap compared to gold, highlights Fran Strajnar, co-founder & CEO of data and research company Brave New Coin."The gold supply is 180,000 tonnes of 'above ground' gold, valued at $7 trillion.The bitcoin market value is $20 billion, so gold vs bitcoin is psychological more than anything," he told CNBC via email."The comparison is perhaps a positive signal that bitcoin is being commoditized.But bitcoin is not a commodity, while gold has been a commodity for thousands of years."The price movement is less significant than it may seem, says Adrian Ash, head of research at Bullion Vault.

"Price is just a number, and overtaking one ounce of gold doesn't in itself mean much.More important is that bitcoin is making new highs.That signals both a growing appetite for alternative assets and also that crypto currency is finding new, perhaps unwary, buyers," he told CNBC via email.Charles Hayter, founder of digital currency comparison website CryptoCompare, said there is ultimately no significance behind bitcoin prices being higher than gold prices."Bitcoin has been linked to gold as a store of value and a flight to safety - the truth is that bitcoin is its own asset class in its own right and does fairly well in times of uncertainty - however it is also subject to its own internal forces too, such as its governance or lack of to be more accurate," he told CNBC via email.Also, bitcoin prices could be set for a shock if the SEC does not approve a bitcoin ETF.Strajnar predicts it is unlikely to pass."This is for a few reasons but mainly because no ETF in the US has the issuer also act as custodian and index provider all in one.

We assume this application is still viewed as a qualitative risk to investors by the SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission)," he said."If the ETF is not approved we expect a correction and consolidation period but growing adoption and the deflationary supply of bitcoin suggests a continued uptrend in the medium term."most influential bitcoinTwo of the world’s most popular digital currencies rose to records on Monday, with the Bitcoin price eclipsing the $1,400 level for the first time ever.bitcoin dash chartEthereum, the world’s second-largest digital token, climbed above $80 for the first time.bitcoin takBoth currencies have surged since the beginning of the year as investors remain optimistic that the Securities and Exchange Commission could soon approve the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund after saying last week that it would reconsider an earlier rejection.bitcoin wooden wallet

However, some market strategists cautioned that the SEC’s review is part of routine due diligence, and that investors shouldn’t read too much into it.The market regulator rejected two proposed bitcoin ETFs in March; a third is still under consideration, but a decision isn’t imminent.bitcoin bowl fieldIn April, Japan cleared the way for large institutional money managers and banks to get involved in the space.bitcoin kurs 10 jahreAnd Russian authorities said last month that they would recognize bitcoin and its peers as soon as next year, while the Indian government is leaning toward legalizing bitcoin and other digital currencies, according to local media reports.bitcoin dotcomAnd although China has cracked down on money laundering and market manipulation, which has driven volume in digital currencies sharply lower, it also has forced the largest cryptocurrency exchanges to upgrade their anti-money-laundering systems.bitcoin math example

“These small things are helping the public at large to feel safe in the investment of Bitcoin,” said Marco Streng, chief executive officer of Genesis Mining.“The more acceptance it gets from around the world, and the more it hits the newspapers with positive headlines, the higher the price will boom.” Chris Dannen, founder of New York-based cryptoasset fund Iterative Instinct, said the growing adoption of so-called alt-coins—a category that includes every cryptocurrency aside from bitcoin—has in turn benefited bitcoin.install bitcoin linux ubuntu“I think it’s the excitement over alt-coins that’s driving the bitcoin price higher,” Dannen said.Back in February, Microsoft Corp.Morgan Chase & Co.JPM, -0.18% and a handful of other partners launched the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, a computing platform built on top of the Ethereum software that allows businesses to build blockchain-based applications.

Excluding a few brief dips, bitcoin BTCUSD, +0.33% has rallied sharply and consistently since the beginning of the year.It is presently up more than 30% in 2017, after more than doubling in 2016.One coin was recently trading at $1,403, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index, which incorporates pricing data from six different exchanges.The price of a single Ethereum token had retreated to $78 in recent trade.Bitcoin recently touched an all-time high above $1,400 The Ethereum price recently touched an all-time high above $80 a coin.To be sure, the recent rise of bitcoin and Ethereum hasn’t come without some degree of hand-wringing.Bitfinex, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, halted all customer withdrawals of U.S.dollars in mid-April after large global banks like Wells Fargo & Co.WFC, -0.08% shut it off from the global financial system.As a result, the price of bitcoin traded on Bitfinex has rocketed to $1,500 as worried customers swallow a more than $100 premium to safely move their assets off Bitfinex’s platform.