Microsoft adds Bitcoin to Bing's currency converter
Crypto-currency's value against more than 50 other currencies can now be found with a simple search query.
Microsoft is making it easier to track the Bitcoin's real-time value by adding the crypto-currency to its Bing search results.
Bing users can now compare Bitcoin's value to more than 50 currencies by typing a simple query into the search bar, such as "7 bitcoin to USD" or "Bitcoin to 100 euros," Microsoft announced Monday. Currency conversion is provided through a partnership with Coinbase, a digital wallet that supports Bitcoin trading.
The feature is currently available only to Bing users in the US, Australia, India, and the UK, but Microsoft promises expansion to additional markets in the coming weeks.
The feature should go a long way toward helping Bitcoin users stay on top of the market for the historically volatile currency. Bitcoin has been around since 2009 but didn't begin to attract serious investor interest until last year.
After languishing in the midteens in January 2013, Bitcoin's value against the US dollar experienced a price appreciation of 1,500 percent during the first quarter of 2013. Along with that meteoric rise, the currency also has experienced dramatic plunges, sometimes whipping away 60 percent of its value in a matter of hours. After trading around $1,000 last December, Bitcoin is currently worth about $580 on the Mt. Gox exchange.