Escalating tensions between the US and Iran have prompted a price surge price for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to market analysts.

Bitcoin has risen in value by around $600 since the US assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Maj Gen Qassem Soleimani on 3 January, taking its price above $7,500 and bucking a downward trend that began before Christmas.

The cryptocurrency is notoriously volatile, making it difficult to attribute one single factor to major market movements, however geopolitical uncertainty is often cited as a contributing factor to price increases.

“Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, jumped 5 per cent as news of the strikes broke around the world on Friday,” said Nigel Green, chief executive of financial consultancy firm deVere Group.

“Simultaneously, the price of gold – known as the ultimate safe-haven asset – also moved higher. The latest bitcoin price increase underscores a mounting consensus that bitcoin is becoming a flight-to-safety asset.”

Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Satoshi Nakamoto creates the first bitcoin block in 2009 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 Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin is used as a currency for the first time 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's volatile history in pictures Silk Road opens for business 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 Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures The first bitcoin ATM appears 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 Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures The fall of MtGox 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 Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Would the real Satoshi Nakamoto please stand up 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 Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's big split 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 Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's price sky rockets 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

A similar trend happened in August, when global stocks were rocked and China's yuan was devalued due to the ongoing trade war between the US and China.

When traditional markets are unsettled, investors typically look to non-sovereign assets and currencies like gold and bitcoin in order to safeguard their wealth.

The latest price increase shows no signs of slowing down, with near hour-on-hour rises over the last three days for bitcoin. Since the targeted killing of Soleimani, tensions between the US and Iran have also continued to grow, with Donald Trump threatening to launch attacks on cultural sites if Iran retaliates.

Other alternative cryptocurrencies, or altcoins, have also experienced significant price movements, including ripple (XRP) and bitcoin cash. Around $20 billion in value was added across all cryptocurrencies.

"Even with the very real political risks, which has been pushing main market investors to safe haven assets, altcoins are maintaining price," said Macus Swanepoel, CEO of London-based cryptocurrency exchange Luno.