Investing.com - Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies dipped lower on Monday as news that the New York Stock Exchange’s parent company was creating a digital asset company failed to lift investor sentiment.
Bitcoin was down 0.88%, falling to an almost-three-week low of $6,969.70 on the Bitfinex exchange as of 8:28 AM ET (12:28 GMT).
Cryptocurrencies overall were lower. The coin market cap of total market capitalization was at $253 billion at the time of writing, compared to $262 billion on Friday.
Ethereum, the second-biggest alternative currency by market cap, fell 0.10% to $406.39 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple, the third-largest virtual currency, decreased 1.23% to $0.42631, while Litecoin was at $74.017, down 0.14%.
Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the NYSE, along with Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and BCG, is creating a new company called Bakkt which will offer a “global platform and ecosystem for digital assets.”
While some speculate that the platform will allow customers to use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at places like Starbucks, the beverage company denied that it would accept Bitcoin. Instead it said it is part of a platform “convert digital assets like Bitcoin into U.S. dollars, which can be used at Starbucks.”
In other news, banks in Thailand can now participate in cryptocurrency, provided they abide by a set of rules. The Bank of Thailand voided a prior rule in February that forbade banks to participate in digital coin activities. Now financial institutions can invest in virtual currencies, but are not allowed to issue digital credit cards, must get permission from their regulator and commercial banks are not allowed to issue digital tokens, buy or sell them. Banks can issue and invest in coins for improving customer service, but only if accepted into the Bank of Thailand’s regulatory sandbox.