Bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin) crossed $14,000 on Thursday, surging $2,000 in less than 24 hours, the BBC reported.
The landmark happened on the Coinbase exchange just before 6 p.m. ET, and it traded as high as $14,400 on that platform.
The announcement from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that it will allow investors to buy and sell "future" contracts in bitcoins - an agreement to buy the crypto-currency, for example, in three months time at a certain price - was seen as a watershed moment for Bitcoin.
Cambridge Global Payments director of global product and market strategy Karl Schamotta said that move was behind the latest rally:
"The perception in households around the world that the CME and the CBOE are providing legitimacy to Bitcoin is really what is driving the massive rally here."
The cryptocurrency began the year below $1,000 but continues its sharp rise despite warnings of a dangerous bubble.
Bitcoin now has a market value of more than $230 billion, meaning it would rank among the 20 largest stocks in the S&P 500.