Bitcoin soared past $4,000 for the first time on growing optimism faster transaction times will hasten the spread of the cryptocurrency.
The largest digital tender jumped to a peak of $4,187 Monday, a gain of nearly 17 percent since Friday, after a plan to quicken trade execution by moving some data off the main network was activated last week. The solution — termed SegWit2x — had been so contentious that a new version of the asset called Bitcoin Cash was spun off earlier this month in opposition.The split grew out of the tension between growing demand for the virtual currency and some of the design features that had fueled that popularity — the decentralized verification procedures that ensured against hacking and government oversight. While this month’s confrontation ended up as little more than a speed bump in bitcoin’s more than 300 percent rally in 2017, concerns remain around the capacity to increase transaction volumes…