Bitcoin price has made significant gains since the early hours of Friday, surging toward $480 in an early day rally.

The Bitstamp Price Index came close to hitting the $480 mark following a surge in bitcoin price that began under an hour after midnight, jumping 5% in a 7-hour window.

At the time of publishing, bitcoin price was trading at $475.66

The rally began around 45 minutes after midnight, with price registering at $452.70 before a 30-minute jump saw bitcoin price trading at $461. Before long, bitcoin price was hovering near the $470 mark at 02:35. At 7 AM (UCT), the cryptocurrency was trading at a new year-high of $477.67.

The increase in price can be attributed to the growing demand from the Chinese market, with a weakening yuan. CCN.com resident analyst Venzen Khaosan elaborated on the BTC/CNY exchange charts in yesterday’s analysis piece, speculating that the price will eventually strike out for $500.

Bitcoin price had steadied under $450 over the past week, a consolidation period that has now broken into an early Friday rally going into this weekend.

The last rally occurred last month to this very day, with trading hitting a high of $470 in the days following the release of the Segregated Witness (SegWit) code by developers.

For a live Bitcoin Price chart, click here.

All time references are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Featured image from Shutterstock.