Bitcoin on Wednesday, Dec 30,  hit a record $28,599.99, taking gains this year past 295 per cent amid heightened interest from bigger investors. The world’s most popular cryptocurrency was last up 3.7 per cent at $28,375. Since breaking $20,000 for the first time on December 16, it has surged by nearly half. Bitcoin has increasingly seen demand from larger US investors, in particular, attracted by its perceived inflation-hedging qualities and the potential for quick gains, as well as expectations it would become a mainstream payments method.