Finance: Bitcoin hits a record high near $3,500 ahead of a big change in the cryptocurrency's software

Bitcoin is up 30% since its August 1 bottom.

Bitcoin's foray into record territory continued Tuesday as the cryptocurrency reached nearly $3,500 a coin. Early buying propelled bitcoin to a high of $3,486 before sellers managed to push it down to $3,404, up .43%.

The rally comes ahead of a big change in the bitcoin's network.

Today, bitcoin's blockchain network will begin the adoption process of a new software, Segregation Witness, or SegWit.

"SegWit is a clever solution that essentially increases transaction capacity," according to Aaron Lasher, CMO of Breadwallet, a bitcoin wallet company.

The new software was devised years ago as a solution to the cryptocurrency's scaling problem, which divided bitcoin power brokers for years and led to a split on August 1.

Investors were unfazed by the August 1 split, which resulted in the creation of a new clone coin, bitcoin cash. Selling on that day dropped bitcoin to a low of $2,643. It has rallied about 30% since its August 1 bottom.

As for how high bitcoin can go, Sheba Jafari, the head of technical strategy at Goldman Sachs, said back in late July that the cryptocurrency had the "scope to reach 3,691." Jafari has been spot on with her bitcoin call, earlier predicting a big drop was coming.

Dennis Porto, a bitcoin investor and Harvard academic, told Business Insider that over the long term he had noticed bitcoin's price was following Moore's law, a first for a technology's price, and said he thought bitcoin could reach $100,000 by 2021 as long as that continued.

"This poses a unique opportunity for investors: Whereas it was difficult to invest in circuits or internet speeds, it is easy to buy a bitcoin," Porto told Business Insider.

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