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Bitcoin has experienced a sudden surge in value after several days of plummeting prices.

The worlds leading cryptocurrency climbed $600 (460) in the space of a few hours to returnabove $7,000, having briefly fallen to its lowest level since May.

The price crashes on Friday and Monday came after market uncertainty surrounding developments in China, which saw a renewed crackdown on illegal exchanges in the country.

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Despite the significant dips. some cryptocurrency expertsclaimed that it was the perfect time to invest.

Once again the value of bitcoin has plummeted due to the nature of cryptocurrency, this is not the first, nor will it be the last time this occurs, Peter Wood, CEO of online trading platform CoinBurp, toldThe Independent.

However, new-time investors can be comforted by the fact that its value will most likely rise again, and newcomers to cryptocurrency should see no better opportunity that to invest now.

On 3 January, 2009, the genesis block of bitcoin appeared. It came less than a year after the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto detailed the cryptocurrency in a paper titled 'Bitcoin: A peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System'

Reuters

On 22 May, 2010, the first ever real-world bitcoin transaction took place. Lazlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins the equivalent of $90 million at today's prices

Lazlo Hanyecz

Bitcoin soon gained notoriety for its use on the dark web. The Silk Road marketplace, established in 2011, was the first of hundreds of sites to offer illegal drugs and services in exchange for bitcoin

On 29 October, 2013, the first ever bitcoin ATM was installed in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada. The machine allowed people to exchange bitcoins for cash

REUTERS/Dimitris Michalakis

The world's biggest bitcoin exchange, MtGox, filed for bankruptcy in February 2014 after losing almost 750,000 of its customers bitcoins. At the time, this was around 7 per cent of all bitcoins and the market inevitably crashed

Getty Images

In 2015, Australian police raided the home of Craig Wright after the entrepreneur claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto. He later rescinded the claim

Getty Images

On 1 August, 2017, an unresolvable dispute within the bitcoin community saw the network split. The fork of bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology spawned a new cryptocurrency: Bitcoin cash

REUTERS

Towards the end of 2017, the price of bitcoin surged to almost $20,000. This represented a 1,300 per cent increase from its price at the start of the year

Reuters

On 3 January, 2009, the genesis block of bitcoin appeared. It came less than a year after the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto detailed the cryptocurrency in a paper titled 'Bitcoin: A peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System'

Reuters

On 22 May, 2010, the first ever real-world bitcoin transaction took place. Lazlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins the equivalent of $90 million at today's prices

Lazlo Hanyecz

Bitcoin soon gained notoriety for its use on the dark web. The Silk Road marketplace, established in 2011, was the first of hundreds of sites to offer illegal drugs and services in exchange for bitcoin

On 29 October, 2013, the first ever bitcoin ATM was installed in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada. The machine allowed people to exchange bitcoins for cash

REUTERS/Dimitris Michalakis

The world's biggest bitcoin exchange, MtGox, filed for bankruptcy in February 2014 after losing almost 750,000 of its customers bitcoins. At the time, this was around 7 per cent of all bitcoins and the market inevitably crashed

Getty Images

In 2015, Australian police raided the home of Craig Wright after the entrepreneur claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto. He later rescinded the claim

Getty Images

On 1 August, 2017, an unresolvable dispute within the bitcoin community saw the network split. The fork of bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology spawned a new cryptocurrency: Bitcoin cash

REUTERS

Towards the end of 2017, the price of bitcoin surged to almost $20,000. This represented a 1,300 per cent increase from its price at the start of the year

Reuters

The price of bitcoin is notoriously difficult to predict due to its volatility, which has seen it fluctuate between $3,000 and $20,000 over the last two years.

Its current price of $7,300 is more than double the price it was this time last year, yet less than half the price it was in late 2017.

While nobody really knows what direction the value of any cryptocurrency will head in the near future, past trends display a possible large increase within the next 12 months at least, Mr Wood said.

Some of the more optimistic predictions for bitcoin include venture capitalist Tim Drapers forecast that the cryptocurrency will reach $250,000 by 2023, and cyber security pioneer John McAfees bet that it will reach $1 million by the end of 2020.

A more conservative estimate comes cryptocurrency analyst PlanB, who tweeted on Monday: Call me crazy, but it wouldnt surprise me if bitcoin closes 2019 at $10,000... Opportunities like this [for investors] are rare.

Social media is an increasingly important battle ground in elections - and home to many questionable claims pumped out by all sides. If social media sites won't investigate the truth of divisive advertising, we will. Please send any political Facebook advertising you receive todigitaldemocracy@independent.co.uk, and we will catalogue and investigate it.Read more here.

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Bitcoin price suddenly surges amid positive predictions - The Independent