A copy of bitcoin standing on PC motherboard is seen in this illustration picture, October 26, 2017. Picture taken October 26, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin climbed to a new all-time high of $6,450 on Wednesday, boosted by bets the cryptocurrency could enter the financial mainstream after the world’s largest derivatives exchange operator said on Tuesday it would launch bitcoin futures.

CME Group Inc CME.O said it would provide a regulated trading venue for the cryptocurrency market and would launch the new derivatives in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Bitcoin has had a bumper year with a more than sixfold increase in price, and has more than doubled in price since mid-September alone.

It was up 0.3 percent on Wednesday on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange BTC=BTSP.