Bitcoin is soaring, but financial advisers are steering clear for now

Bitcoin is soaring to record heights, hitting the $1,000 mark Friday for the first time, but financial advisers aren't biting — yet, anyway.

The virtual currency passed the quadruple digit price shortly before 10 a.m. on the Mt. Gox exchange and has since soared higher than $1,020. That marks a gain of about 5,000% from the $20 level at which Bitcoin was trading at the start of this year.

Despite the hype, many advisers are steering clear of the online currency, which is unregulated by central banks and traded freely on the Internet. Because the digital currency is so new and its rise has been so fast, advisers are doing their homework before investing clients' money.