Bitcoin breaks above $12,000 for the first time

Bitcoin tops $12,000 Tuesday evening, ET, (Wednesday morning Asia-time), and quickly adds several hundred dollars to reach a record high of $12,798.78, according to CoinDesk. 

The digital currency now has a market value of about $213 billion, more than twice that of Goldman Sachs.

 Bitcoin has surged more than 1,200 percent this year

Bitcoin just broke $12,000, hitting another record high Bitcoin just broke $12,000, hitting another record high 43 Mins Ago | 00:40 Bitcoin broke above the $12,000 mark

 Wednesday morning Asia-time, as the cryptocurrency continued its march higher.

The digital currency quickly leaped further. As of 8:16 a.m., ET, bitcoin traded up 9 percent at $12,765, according to industry site CoinDesk. A few hours earlier, bitcoin had hit an all-time high of $12,798.78. 

The bitcoin offshoot, bitcoin cash, traded slightly lower near $1,470, while digital currency ethereum also traded slightly lower near $446, according to CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin began 2017 at less than $1,000 per token, but it has been on an absolute tear in recent months: It crossed $5,000 in October and touched above $11,000 for the first time less than two months later, according to CoinDesk data. Bitcoin 12-month performance

With Wednesday morning's spike, bitcoin now has a total market value of about $213 billion — 

more than twice Goldman Sachs' market cap. All of the digital asset's explosive growth has come against a backdrop of steady criticism from many financial luminaries.