Last week, economist Peter Schiff alluded to Bitcoinas a bubble, while at the same time, a New York Supervisor suggested that the currency should be strongly regulated through licensing. However, these opposing opinions have not stopped the digital currency from continuing its upward trend as intraday trading for Bitcoin on Nov. 18 had it crossing $600 USD, and closing out at $595.

There are several factors in Bitcoin's meteoric rise over the past month, but two primary reasons for the currencies climb in value against other fiat denominations are China's acceptance of Bitcoin's use in retail and other market transactions, and the rising inflation that is occurring with the dollar and in nations around the world as many increase their money supplies in an ongoing currency war.

At its current pace, Bitcoin could easily climb to over $1000 USD by the end of the year, and begin to challenge the price value of gold in early 2014. The significance of this is that several alternative analysts have equated Bitcoin to the precious metal as an investment to hedge against inflation and dollar devaluation. A recent study by Raoul Pal, head of the Global Macro Investor, suggested that Bitcoin is extremely undervalued at its current price level, and when compared to gold, has a ceiling potential of 5000 times its current value.

As acceptance of Bitcoin grows, and more and more nations and retailers allow the digital currency to become an active part of the global market, the value of the limited production form of money will continue to rise against nearly all global currencies, and especially the dollar. And with bank insolvencies proving that sovereign governments are willing to confiscate customer accounts to help bail out financial institutions, the option of a purely digital currency is quite appealing to regular citizens and business owners alike since it resides outside the control of both nations and central banks.