The virtual currency Bitcoin has reached a record price of $265 on the BitStamp online exchange, marking a widening of its public acceptance.

The trading activity of Bitcoin, which is digital money that can be used to pay for products or services on the internet, has created a 20-fold increase in it so far this year.

The drop in the currency experienced after the seizing the “Silk Road Hidden Website,” where people couple obtain drugs, guns and other illicit items using Bitcoins, proved to be short-lived as now, a month after the website was closed, the currency has gained more than ever. The virtual currency is particularly popular in China with BTC China being the largest Bitcoing exchange.

The appeal of the virtual currency, which exists as software, lie in its non-traceable nature that allows people to trade anonymously on the web. A report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago mentioned that Bitcoins are traded at a pace of 30 transactions per minute at an average amount of 16 Bitcoins.

Everything from cupcakes to electronics has been bought on the web by Bitcoins since its introduction in 2008 by the programmer of group of programmers under the name Satoshi Nakamoto, with almost 12 million Bitcoins n circulation today.