The price of the world's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, briefly hit a new all-time high of more than $69,000.
It surpassed the previous record set in November 2021 - though by 2022 Bitcoin's value had sunk to $16,500.
The new surge in price has been spurred by US finance giants pouring billions into buying bitcoins.
The cryptocurrency rose to around $69,200 shortly after 15:00 GMT on Tuesday, before falling back. It was trading around $62,185 by 21:00 GMT.
The new high reinforced a remarkable comeback for bitcoin following a 2022 crash that created huge losses for investors and triggered the downfall of several big industry players, including cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
The dramatic retreat from Tuesday's high offered a reminder of how much volatility still surrounds this digital asset. At one point it was down 11%, the sort of drop last seen during the tumult of 2022.
Investors are bidding other cryptocurrencies and related stocks higher too. Ether (ETH-USD), the second-largest cryptocurrency, has outperformed bitcoin by more than 7% since the beginning of the year. Several so-called meme coins — such as dogecoin (DOGE-USD), shiba inu (SHIB), and dogwifhat (WIF) — are also surging.