Investing.com - Bitcoin and other virtual currencies were higher on Monday, as regulatory crackdown worry in Japan and the United States eased.
Bitcoin was trading at $9,793.70, surging 8.46% as of 8:12 AM ET (12:12 GMT) on the Bitfinex after hitting a low of $8,462.00 on Sunday.
The cryptocurrency fell nearly 18% last week amid worry of regulatory crackdown in the U.S. and Japan. It has struggled to gain ground after falling to $6,000 in early February and is far from its peak of $20,000 in December.
Other virtual currencies were up, with rival Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, rising 4.00% to $734.56 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple, the third largest virtual currency, was up 2.31% to $0.82170 while Litecoin was last at $189.60, an increase of 1.37%.
Bitcoin broker Bitpanda CEO Eric Demuth said Monday that cryptocurrency should be regulated in the same as gold and that “regulation provides us with more legitimacy.” The Austrian company wants to be regulated, Demuth said.
While central bankers and officials have warned against cryptocurrency investing risk no European country has yet to regulate the digital coins.
In Finland, four out of five banks cryptocurrency exchange Prasos Oy uses have cut ties with the platform. The regulation uncertainty and concerns of money laundering rules has left banks and other financial institutions hesitant to involve themselves with virtual currency business and exchanges.
Meanwhile in South Korea, police arrested 20 people on suspicion of a $28 million fraud scheme. The alleged claimed they were setting up a cryptocurrency exchanges platform and promised investors they would double their money.