Bitcoin is continually being driven higher by a number of forces, such as gaining credibility by now being legally accepted by merchants, being discussed as currency in front of the US Senate, and a general fear of paper currencies collapsing.  From Zero Hedge:

UPDATE: … And then Bitcoin collapses 13% minutes later…

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It seems the growing tensions in Asia (Japan-China sabre-rattling [6] and Indian capital controls [7]) have prompted more great rotation out of fiat and into digital currency as China/India markets open. For the first time ever, the price of one unit of Bitcoin exceeds the price of an ounce of gold…

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1 oz of Gold = $1241.98 (Bloomberg)

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1 unit of Bitcoin = $1242.00 (Bitcoinwisdom.com)

 

 

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