Bitcoin topped 40 million won per unit for the first time in South Korea on Thursday, just eleven days after surpassing 30 million won.

According to local cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb on Thursday, Bitcoin was trading at 40-point-85 million won as of 8:58 a.m., up six-point-94 percent from the previous day.

Bitcoin was trading at 40-point-81 million won at another currency exchange Upbit at around the same time.

The bitcoin price jumped 380 percent compared to a year earlier, and broke the 20-million-won mark on November 18, 2020, then the 30-million-won mark on December 27.

Industry watchers attribute the bull run in cryptocurrency transactions to investors considering the virtual currency a relatively safe asset amid a new wave of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Demand for bitcoin also increased after PayPal, the biggest online payment firm in the U.S., decided in October last year to allow customers to use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.