Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the audience at a luncheon at SkyCity Grand Hotel on November 21, 2014 in Auckland, New Zealand. Greg Bowker | Pool | Getty Images

Bitcoin's price rose sharply over the weekend, recovering from a plunge just days earlier, after Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a speech embracing blockchain technology and calling on his country to advance development in the field. The value of the world's best-known cryptocurrency jumped as high as $10,332 on Saturday, according to data from industry website CoinDesk. The price has since eased to around $9,370 as of Monday morning, up about 1% on the day. The virtual currency's jump came as China's leader sang the praises of blockchain, the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. According to state media, Xi said Friday that China has a strong foundation and should look to take a leading position in the sector.

He reportedly said China should "seize the opportunity" offered by blockchain, adding the technology could benefit a range of industries including finance, education and health care. A blockchain is a digital ledger that maintains a record of transactions or other data across a network of computers. Beijing has taken a tough stance on cryptocurrencies, banning a fundraising exercise known as an initial coin offering and forcing local trading platforms to shut down in 2017. China's central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), has been working on its own digital currency. It has accelerated its development in recent months as Facebook and a handful of other companies look to shake up the global financial services industry with a cryptocurrency called libra. The PBOC set up a research team back in 2014 to explore the use of virtual currencies to reduce the costs involved in circulating traditional paper-based money. A senior official at the bank said last month that the planned digital token would bear some similarities to libra. Libra has come under intense scrutiny from regulators around the world, who worry Facebook's proposed digital asset would disrupt the financial system and could be open to risks like money laundering and terrorist financing. Lawmakers last week grilled Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the project. Zuckerberg at one point said the social network would not take part in launching libra "until U.S. regulators approve."