Bitcoin climbed above $2,000 for the first time Saturday on increased demand from Japanese and Chinese investors.Bitcoin was last trading near $2,047.Prices for bitcoin on the Hong Kong-based Bitfinex exchange rose, narrowing a recent gap with the global rate in anticipation that bitcoin traded on Bitfinex can soon be easily converted to U.S.Chris Burniske, a blockchain products lead analyst at fund manager ARK Invest, pointed out in a tweet Saturday that the difference between Chinese and U.S.exchanges for the price of the digital currency narrowed from a 20 percent gap to 5 percent in just a week.Bitcoin jumped near $1,900 Thursday amid reports of possible political scandal in the U.S.and Brazil that sent traders looking for safe assets.Some analysts believe the often volatile digital currency can one day vie with gold as a safety trade.Gold futures rose more than 2 percent last week to settle at $1,253.60.Analysts also noted higher interest in bitcoin due to several major cryptocurrency conferences in New York these two weeks.

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.Schroders Talk Bitcoin: mouth-watering prospect of eye-watering valuation Bitcoin is trading around its highest price ever today on the prospect of mass-adoption in India and Japan.Bitcoin was more than 1.5 per cent higher this morning at around $1,284 according to Coin Desk.The currency peaked just above that in early March before plummeting to a low of $935."On the surface, it seems that mass integration of digital wallets could very soon be part of our everyday lives.India and Japan could well be the tipping point," said Mati Greenspan, senior markets analyst at eToro."Once it becomes a regular thing to walk into a Japanese store, pay with your smartphone, and walk out, it's only a matter of time.If India lifts restrictions on bitcoin payments, that would put a good portion of the world's population on the blockchain."Read more: Bitcoin prices jump as Japan makes the cryptocurrency legal This follows reports last night that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will review its decision to block the listing of the first US exchange-traded fund (ETF).

The SEC rejected the long-awaited bitcoin ETF last month due to a lack of regulation in the world's bitcoin markets, causing the currency to plunge to below $1,000.The ETF, founded by the Winklevoss twins, would have been a massive boost to bringing the cryptocurrency into the mainstream, persuading more professional investors to jump in and push its price higher.​"A bitcoin ETF is only a matter of time, and whilst previous excitement around this has driven short-term volatility, the market has very quickly corrected, marking only a limited opportunity for traders," Greenspan said."Although a bitcoin ETF will bring some very welcome American investors to the asset, eToro's bitcoin traders are clear that the real market-mover for bitcoin is on-the-street adoption across major economies."Read more: An analyst has warned bitcoin could return back to $1,000 Related articles An analyst has warned bitcoin could return back to $1,000 Bitcoin continues a steady climb as it pushes for mainstream adoption Bitcoin slumps as fears of a "hard fork" deepen

One of Japan’s Largest Budget Airlines Begin to Accept Bitcoin, Rise of Japanese Market Apart from being the third largest bitcoin exchange market, Japan has one of the most active bitcoin communities in the world that is optimistic about bitcoin as digital cash and currency, instead of digital gold.On May 22, Peach Aviation, one of Japan’s most popular and largest budget airlines, solidified bitcoin’s image in Japan by accepting bitcoin payments for flight bookings.bitcoin heaterAccording to Bloomberg, Peach Aviation is set to become the first Japanese airline to accept bitcoin payments for airline tickets for both domestic and international flights.ethereum miner statsPeach CEO Shinichi Inoue stated that the integration of bitcoin is an important part of a larger vision of the company to attract more tourists in Asia.ethereum reddit invest

“We want to encourage visitors from overseas and the revitalization of Japan’s regions.This is a real first step in partnerships for Japan and we are aiming for more company and service tie-ups,” Inoue told reporters at a press conference held in Tokyo.Over the past few years, bitcoin’s public image has transformed from digital cash to digital gold in the sense that a wide range of investors have started perceive bitcoin as a safe haven asset, wealth protection tool and a mandatory asset to protect holdings against economic uncertainty and financial instability, rather than as digital cash.github bitcoin exchangeThe mainstream media also played an important role in pushing the “Bitcoin is gold 2.0” narrative to the public, with financial media companies including CNBC consistently categorizing bitcoin as digital gold, as CNBC analyst and BKCM founder Brian Kelly previously said: “Bitcoin can be thought of as digital gold.kurs bitcoin 2014

The upside for bitcoin is so much higher than upside for gold, in my view."However, the image of bitcoin is quite different in Japan because companies and consumers are looking at and using bitcoin as a digital currency.Some of Japan’s most influential conglomerates including Bic Camera are accepting bitcoin payments for their electronics retail stores across Japan and local publications have reported that more than 260,000 restaurants, cafes and eateries in Japan will soon be able to accept bitcoin payments through AirRegi.bitcoin mount goxRecruit Lifestyle, a major Japanese conglomerate, has announced its partnership with Tokyo-based exchange Coincheck to enable bitcoin payments for AirRegi-using merchants.AirRegi, a popular Point of Sale (PoS) system in Japan, is used by hundreds of thousands of merchants nationwide.Local publications including Nikkei reported that the Recruit Lifestyle-Coincheck deal could allow consumers to pay at over 260,000 shops and eateries throughout Japan using bitcoin.