Riding the wave: Bitcoin, ether hit fresh highs

The world's most popular cryptocurrency rose to a record $56,620, taking its weekly gain to 18%.

The past week has been spectacular for the cryptocurrency market.  (REUTERS)

Bitcoin hit a fresh high in Asian trading on Saturday, extending a two-month rally that saw its market capitalisation cross $1 trillion a day earlier.

The world's most popular cryptocurrency rose to a record $56,620, taking its weekly gain to 18%. It has surged more than 92% this year.

Bitcoin's gains have been fuelled by evidence it is gaining acceptance among mainstream investors and companies, such as Tesla Inc, Mastercard Inc and BNY Mellon.

Bitcoin touched another record pinnacle at $54,182, which means that the combined value of Bitcoin now stands at $1.002 trillion, as per a Coinmarketcap.com report.

The past week has been spectacular for the cryptocurrency market, which has been booming ever since Tesla CEO Elon Musk started showing his support

Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and daily volume, hit a record $2,040.62 , for a weekly gain of about 12%.

Ether is the digital currency or token that facilitates transactions on the ethereum blockchain. In the crypto world, the terms ether and ethereum have become interchangeable.

Ether futures contracts launched on derivatives exchange CME earlier this month.