Bitcoin keeps surging, taps new record atop $1,200

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- Bitcoin continued to push higher Friday, touching a new record of $1,242 before pulling back to around $1,183. The virtual currency took out Wednesday's $1,000 high on Thanksgiving Day. The run-up for bitcoin got new life after a congressional hearing earlier this month that effectively gave the currency an official blessing. The currency also elbowed into the holiday shopping season with its own Bitcoin Black Friday promotion involving hundreds of merchants.