For those following the bitcoin price trend, this marks the first time bitcoin has been above $4,500 since early Sept. & continues a rally that began on Thursday.

Commenting on the rally on Friday, Mati Greenspan, a senior market analyst at trading platform eToro, said: ‘European regulators have been cracking down on all things crypto lately & are considering introducing more regulatory framework that could hamper the growth of blockchain based assets.

‘On the other h&, Brazil's biggest financial firm [XP Investimentos] has announced that they plan to add bitcoin trading for their clients. In Japan, where Bitcoin has been fully legalized as of April, a large energy supplier called Remixpoint has now added the option for their clients to pay in Bitcoin. This move is actually very strategic, not as much for retail customers as for corporations.’

The rally as well corresponds with new interest in bitcoin from investment banks. The Wall Street Journal last week reported that Goldman Sachs is looking at setting up a bitcoin trading operation & Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer James Gorman said lately that the cryptocurrency is ‘certainly more than just a fad.’