Good times roll for Plus500 as Bitcoin fever takes revenue to record level

Plus500 has unveiled another strong quarter off the back of the recent hype for digital currencies after tens of thousands of punters rushed to the online trading business to get in on the frenzy. 

The Israel-based firm said it attracted a 228pc increase in new customers for the three months to March as 72,960 people were driven to the site by volatile markets and “high levels of interest” in its cryptocurrency offering. 

Firms such as Plus500 which let people bet on the change in price of a digital currency without owning the underlying asset benefited from the interest in Bitcoin late last year after it hit a high of $20,000 in December. 

The sudden attention on the market created a windfall for Plus500, which said its revenues almost quadrupled to a record $297.3m (£218.24m) for the period compared to this time a year ago. The strong quarter follows an active 2017 that saw profits at the firm rise 70pc. 

However the business said that market conditions have…