Bitcoin prices diverge wildly as demand overwhelms exchanges

Bitcoin prices diverged dramatically across global exchanges on Friday, as hyperdeflation and frenzied demand drove the price to over $25,970 a coin on some exchanges before a sharp correction took hold.

Volumes on the world's five largest exchanges saw $US10 billion worth of trade change hands in a period of 24 hours, though prices differed by as much as $US2,000 as the exchanges struggled to manage the onslaught of demand.