Bitcoin briefly touched $40,000 today following an almost continual increase in the price since September. Since September 9, when the price was around $10,800, bitcoin has managed to fly past the previous high of $20,000 and to double that hitting $40,000 albeit briefly. It's unclear what will happen next but there's no doubt that the high price will attract the attention of those not yet invested and encourage some people to sell while the price is still high. The price of the cryptocurrency has increased significantly in the last few days. On Sunday, the coin hit an all-time high of $34,800 - this also happened to coincide with its 12th birthday. What could slow down any upcoming sell-off is the fact that JP Morgan has said that bitcoin has the potential to reach $146,000 as it competes with gold as an asset class.

It's not only bitcoin that has been seeing a sharp increase in its price, other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, XRP, and Litecoin have all seen an increase but none going up as sharply as bitcoin over the last week. These altcoins tend to go wherever bitcoin goes in terms of the price going up or down but none of them are as valuable as one bitcoin. If the recent spike in the price of bitcoin has gained your interest and you're looking to invest, make sure you familiarise yourself with the wallet or service you plan to use and understand the risks of each solution. It should also be reiterated that you should only spend as much money as you're happy to lose - while unlikely, bitcoin and other altcoins could become worthless overnight and all the money you invested could simply vanish so make sure you're prepared even to take this risk.