The surging price of bitcoin could reach record highs in the coming months if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal, according to some cryptocurrency analysts.

The looming prospect of a no-deal Brexit has already caused the pound to slump against other major currencies, including the euro and US dollar.

Meanwhile bitcoin has experienced a resurgence in recent months, with ts value rising by around $4,000 since late June to its current price of $12,000.

It still remains a long way off its record high of $20,000, which it hit in late 2017, but experts believe geopolitical uncertainty could push it beyond that point before 2020.

“Bitcoin has rediscovered its mojo this year with multiple mini surges but a no-deal Brexit could see a massive and unprecedented breakout,” Nicholas Gregory, CEO of blockchain firm CommerceBlock, told The Independent.

“Not only will a no-deal departure from the EU create turmoil and volatility across two major fiat currencies, it will also trigger an identity crisis for the global system as the contingency and vulnerability of major global fiat currencies is laid bare.”

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

The price of bitcoin is notoriously volatile, however some investors are beginning to see it as a safe-haven asset due to its finite supply.

Its borderless and decentralised infrastructure also means it is less prone to the effects of a single country or market.

Nigel Green, the chief executive of financial consultancy firm deVere Group, recently called bitcoin a “flight-to-safety asset during times of market uncertainty”, claiming it is gaining a reputation as digital gold.

Data collected by Bloomberg earlier this week appeared to reaffirm this opinion, with bitcoin’s price correlation to gold doubling over the last three months.

Bitcoin’s value has risen from around $3,000 to $12,000 in 2019 (CoinMarketCap)

This has been aided by other geopolitical uncertainty in the form of rising trade tensions between the US and China.

“Gold, the traditional haven asset, has been a beneficiary of some of this investor uncertainty,” Simon Peters, an analyst at the online trading platform eToro, told The Independent.

“Yet bitcoin also seems to have served a similar purpose. Given that Chinese investors make up a large proportion of crypto investors, there’s a strong possibility some are backing bitcoin’s chances against the yuan.”

The current Brexit deadline for the UK to leave Europe is set for 31 October, 2019, though previous dates have been postponed due to parliament being unable to agree upon the deal negotiated by previous prime minister Theresa May.

Boris Johnson inspects an ambulance during a visit to Pilgrim Hospital in Boston (AFP)

Her successor, Boris Johnson, has consistently claimed that Brexit will happen by 31 October, with or without a deal, with some warning this could be a catastrophe for the UK and global markets more broadly.

Carolyn Fairbairn, the director of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said in a recent op-ed in the Financial Times that a no-deal Brexit would be a “tripwire into economic chaos”.

Should this prove true, Mr Gregory claims bitcoin’s place within the global economy could fundamentally shift.

“Come 2020, we expect an increasingly populist and politically unstable world to cement the safe haven status of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies more generally,” he said.

“And if central banks revert to ramping up the money printing all over again, the case for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin whose supply is capped will be further reinforced. Each time a central bank increases the money supply, it’s another nail in the coffin of fiat.”