Bitcoin is holding close to US$87,000 as institutional buying gathers pace, helping lift the global cryptocurrency market back above US$3 trillion for the first time since January.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency was recently trading at about US$86,779, up around 2% over the latest session after reaching an intraday high of US$87,251.

Bitcoin has now climbed to its highest level in around eight months and is up about 8.8% during September, extending a recovery that began with a 25% gain in August.

The latest leg higher has been supported by a sharp return of…