The price of bitcoin continues to climb to new highs, reaching an average of $3,525 across global exchanges today, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index.

All told, the price of bitcoin has now climbed 250% since the start of the year, rising from just under $1,000 on January first to its all-time high today.

Year-over-year, the price gains are even more impressive, with bitcoin increasing nearly 600%. The price of bitcoin on August 8, 2016, was roughly $595, according to BPI data.

Whether bitcoin will push higher, however, remains to be seen, as the price did encounter some resistance, later declining to $3,458. The day's opening price was $3,431.

The price surge also coincides with a new all-time high in the wider cryptocurrency markets, as the value of all publicly traded cryptographic assets rose above $120 billion for the first time, up from $116 billion yesterday.

Overall, it appears bitcoin was responsible for much of the upward movement. Data from CoinMarketCap shows the market cap of bitcoin hit $56.8 billion today, up from around $53 billion yesterday.

Other cryptocurrencies have been performing well alongside bitcoin, however, with just two of the top-10 cryptocurrencies (Ripple and Neo) showing 24-hour declines at press time.

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