Increased interest from Korean and Japanese exchanges are increasing the value of the cryptocurrency

Bitcoin hit a record high above US$4,500 recently, and now is putting the market capitalization over US$73 billion according to CoinDesk.

William Mougayar, founder of Startup Management, explained to Fortune that increased interest from Korean and Japanese exchanges are increasing the value of the cryptocurrency. "Another part of it is driven by the psychology of markets, as $USD 5,000 seems to be within reach, now that the $4,000 level has been easily broken," Mougayar said.

The capitalization of Bitcoin is currently higher than some S&P 500 stocks, such as Netflix and PayPal. ChineseInvestors.com Inc., NVIDIA Corp., Advances Micro Devices Inc., First Bitcoin Capital Corp., and MGT Capital Investments Inc.

"PayPal was initially created with a similar vision to bitcoin - as permission less money," said Ari Paul, chief investment officer of cryptocurrency investment firm, BlockTower Capital, CNBC reported. "PayPal wasn't able to fulfill that vision, but bitcoin is well on the way. Bitcoin can be used to transfer $100 million anywhere in the world in 10 minutes and for less than $2. Bitcoin rising in value above PayPal reflects its growing role as the best way to move money globally."

ChineseInvestors.com announced on August 14th the, "Launch of its cryptocurrency education and trading subscription service on ChineseIn.com, the Company's dynamic financial website that provides real-time market commentary, analysis, and educational related services to Chinese-speaking investors.

The new subscription service will cover timely news and will provide analysis regarding all aspects of the emerging digital currency world, including coverage of cryptocurrencies including bitcoin and ethereum, industry trends, price movement, sector related stocks and ETFs, etc.

Cryptocurrency has attracted a lot of attention in recent years from the creation of bitcoin, the world's first decentralized digital currency to blockchain technology, which allows cryptocurrency to transfer value across the globe without resorting to traditional intermediaries such as banks.

The ability to transfer value solely through software is a huge breakthrough. The cryptocurrency market has also created new phenomena such as currency mining, trading, tender, and storage. At the same time, it has significantly impacted industries such as cybersecurity, cloud computing and storage, and semiconductors.

"Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have become a global phenomenon," says Warren Wang, founder and CEO of CIIX. "Since January 2015, the price of Bitcoin has increased 500 percent from $200 to $1,000 in January 2017, and just spiked to a record high over $4,000 as US-North Korea tensions escalated. Likewise, ethereum has surged from less than $10 to more than $300 this year."

With the use and trading of cryptocurrencies on the rise in Asia, it appears that a much wider adoption of digital assets may be right around the corner. With an estimated 85 percent market share, China is one of the dominant players controlling bitcoin volume, along with Japan (which recently legalized bitcoin as a form of payment) and the United States.

While many see the unique opportunity that cryptocurrency poses for investors and desire to capitalize on this market opportunity, they may not have a full understanding of the concept of digital currency or how the system works.