Bitcoin hit a record Wednesday after a late Tuesday announcement from the Digital Currency Group.Bitcoin crossed the psychologically key $2,500 level Wednesday to a record after a late Tuesday announcement from the Digital Currency Group alleviated worries about a fractious debate among cryptocurrency investors and technological developers."I think it's mostly to do with the fact they may have ended the ongoing political stalemate over scaling may be over," Andrew Keys, head of global business development at blockchain software developer ConsenSys, told CNBC in an email.Blockchain is the technology behind bitcoin that many expect can have broader, transformative applications in industries such as financial services.Bitcoin rose more than 10 percent to an all-time high of $2,537.16, after earlier in the day topping $2,400 for the first time, according to CoinDesk.The latest move marks a more than $500 gain since Saturday, when the digital currency first topped $2,000.That brings bitcoin's 5-day gain to just over 40 percent and its gain for May so far to 88 percent.

Bitcoin has more than doubled this year, up more than 160 percent with Wednesday afternoon's surge.Bitcoin 12-month performance Source: CoinDesk The scaling agreement is a significant step forward for proponents of the digital currency.Fifty-six companies around the world and 83 percent of bitcoin miners supported the "Bitcoin Scaling Agreement," according to the Digital Currency Group.bitcoin and edisonThe document lays out an upgrade that should increase bitcoin's transaction capacity.bitcoin gadget windows xpBrian Kelly, CEO of BKCM and a CNBC contributor, said the market sentiment was most important for bitcoin prices.bitcoin mining over wifi"This upgrade is needed because more applications can be built on top of bitcoin and more value can be added to bitcoin," he said.why bitcoin value dropping

Kelly manages a fund focusing on digital currencies.Trade denominated in Korean won also increased a share of total volume — up from single digits Tuesday to more than 12 percent Wednesday, according to CryptoCompare.To be sure, bitcoin is a highly volatile asset, and analysts remained cautious that the Digital Currency Group's agreement sounded the all-clear for the currency.boutique bitcoin parisAlex Sunnarborg, a research analyst at CoinDesk, pointed out that "not everyone is on board" with the scaling agreement as they felt it was rushed.litecoin mining rig buytraditional assets Regardless, the digital currency is gaining more attention in the U.S., especially from high-profile institutional investors.ethereum key fileJeffrey Gundlach , CEO of DoubleLine Capital, tweeted Tuesday that there could be a connection between bitcoin's surge this year and the drop in the Shanghai composite stock index.bitcoin calculator source code

The theory is that Chinese looking for investments outside of a weakening yuan have turned to the digital currency.Chinese yuan-denominated trade volume in bitcoin shrank in the last few months after Beijing began investigating the digital currency exchanges, while the local stock market came under increased regulation.But the Shanghai composite, down 0.4 percent year to date, isn't the only global asset that's fallen while bitcoin has more than doubled in price.ethereum tumblerKelly and other analysts expect bitcoin can one day replace traditional safety investments such as gold.Digital currency enthusiasts also see great value in the blockchain technology that supports bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like ethereum.Some see ethereum as a potential structure for a decentralized, next-generation internet.Also known as ether, the bitcoin rival has run more than 2,300 percent higher this year.Bitcoin itself has gained more than 150 percent over that time.

"That's what people are starting to realize.It was digital gold," Kelly said.Now, "it's more than digital gold."Andthe Best Place to Work in the global financial markets 2017 is...will become the first Japanese carrier to accept bitcoin as payment for airline tickets as the discount airline aims to attract more tourists from other parts of Asia.The cryptocurrency can be used to book seats starting by the end of the year, Peach said in a statement in Tokyo Monday, adding a change in Japan’s law on fund settlements in April helped facilitate the move.The carrier also aims to increase tie-ups with local governments and regional companies to help spread usage of the currency, it said.“We want to encourage visitors from overseas and the revitalization of Japan’s regions,” Shinichi Inoue, chief executive officer of Peach told reporters in Tokyo Monday.“This is a real first step in partnerships for Japan and we are aiming for more company and service tie-ups.” Bitcoin is surging in popularity as the digital payment system that allows users anywhere in the world to transact directly without interference from intermediaries, governments, regulators or central banks.

Latvian airline airBaltic announced almost three years ago that it would start accepting payment using bitcoin as it focuses on the customer.The electronic currency surged as much as 13 percent to a record $2,187.78 on Monday, and is trading about 70 percent above the price of an ounce of gold, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.It has more than doubled its value since the beginning of the year amid global political uncertainty and increased interest in Asia.Skeptics have said that there may be a bubble in the making, as bitcoin has repeatedly broken records without showing signs of slowing.Universal Air Travel Plan teamed up with Bitnet as a payment processing partner more than two years ago to allow it to offer the ability to accept bitcoin payments in a simplified manner to its network of more than 260 airlines, according to a statement from UATP.Welcome to our weekly bitcoin news recap, where we cover top headlines and stories in the world of bitcoin each week.We’re proud to say that this week Blockchain was recognized as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum.

Blockchain CEO Peter Smith also had the opportunity to sit down with major news outlets to shed some light on bitcoin and the post-Brexit scenario.There was also news this week about the Winklevoss ETF, and in China a new law was proposed to help protect user digital assets, including bitcoin.Read all this news and more, in our weekly recap.Blockchain Named Technology Pioneer by World Economic Forum Blockchain, the world’s leading provider of blockchain technology, was today named a World Economic Forum (WEF) Technology Pioneer, joining a selection of the world’s most innovative companies.Pioneers were recognized for their potential to significantly impact business and society through new technologies.Fulvia Montresor, Head of Technology Pioneers at the World Economic Forum, had this to say about the recognition: “Blockchain is among those companies helping to shape the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a technological revolution which will fundamentally alter the way we live, work and relate to one another.

Through the platform of the World Economic Forum, it will be able to scale and share its technology and achieve a larger impact.” At the World Economic Forum, Blockchain gave both bitcoin and blockchain technology a chance to shine.In an interview with CNBC, our CEO Peter Smith had a chance to sit down and talk about how bitcoin is actually more stable than the euro or the pound post-Brexit.Peter also had the opportunity to speak with Bloomberg on blockchain’s disruptive effect on the financial industry.Winklevoss Brothers Dump Nasdaq For Proposed Bitcoin Fund Investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss on Wednesday filed to switch the listing of their proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund to BATS Global Markets from Nasdaq, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Also making news this week is Indian bitcoin exchange Coinsecure, who partnered with BitPay to bring bitcoin payments to Indian merchants.Kraken, another bitcoin exchange, acquired bitcoin exchange CleverCoin to expand their reach further into the European market.