Bitcoin topped 40 million won ($36,800) per unit for the first time in South Korea on Thursday, a local cryptocurrency exchange said.

Bitcoin was trading at 40.9 million won as of 8:58 a.m., up 6.94 percent from the previous day, according to local cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb.

It just took 11 days for the cryptocurrency to top the 40 million-won mark after it broke the 30 million-won threshold on Dec. 27, 2020. The bitcoin price jumped 380 percent compared with a year earlier.

The bull run in cryptocurrency transactions came as investors viewed the virtual currency as a relatively safe asset amid the new coronavirus outbreak, according to industry watchers.

Major economies have carried out aggressive fiscal spending and monetary easing to cushion the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The US dollar has noticeably weakened against major currencies.

Demand for bitcoin also gained ground after PayPal, the biggest online payment firm in the US, decided in October last year to allow its customers to use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. (Yonhap)