• Bitcoin, the scorching-hot cryptocurrency, broke through $13,000 a coin for the first time Wednesday.
• The new milestone comes less than a day after it hit $12,000.
• The price of bitcoin is up more than 1,180% year-to-date, according to data from Markets Insider.

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Bitcoin , the red-hot cryptocurrency, continued its jaw-dropping tear Wednesday, soaring above $13,000 per coin for the first time.

The new high comes less than a day after it broke through $12,000, which it did Tuesday evening in New York, according to data from Markets Insider. By 2:40 p.m. ET, bitcoin was trading as high as $13,118 a coin.

The new milestone comes ahead of the launch of bitcoin futures contracts by two major US exchanges. Cboe Global Markets, the Chicago-based options and derivatives exchange, is rolling out its bitcoin futures product Sunday. Its rival, CME Group, is launching its product later in December. Bitcoin futures , which will allow investors to bet on the future price of the digital coin, are a sign of the eight-year-old coin's maturation.

Bitcoin is up an eye-popping 1,180% year-to-date.

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