Digital currency bitcoin soared to a new high of $4,500 (£3,492) on Thursday as the currency continues to grow following a split between its backers.

The cryptocurrency has grown steadily for the past two weeks since it experienced a "hard fork", where two competing strands of bitcoin emerged after some of its leading developers disagreed on the best way to take it forward.

Analysts had expected bitcoin to take a hit after the fork, which saw the emergence of a new currency called "bitcoin cash". But bitcoin, defying expectations has been spurred by the split, reaching an all time high from around $2,700 (£2,000) at the start of August.

Bitcoin and other digital currencies are known for their volatility, with the currency losing around $12bn in market capitalisation in June when it fell from around $3,000 to $2,270, according to CNBC.