Investing.com - Cryptocurrency prices gained on Wednesday, despite Bitcoin having its worst monthly losing streak in seven years in December.
Bitcoin rose 2.2% to $3,825.30 on the Investing.com Index, as of 8:11 AM ET (13:11 GMT), after closing at $3,689 on Dec. 31, a 13% decline during the month. It was its worst month since November 2011.
Bitcoin closed down nearly 70% in 2018 and remains below the $4,000 mark. Digital coins fell dramatically towards the end of the year amid concerns of increased regulatory scrutiny and volatility.
Cryptocurrencies overall were higher, with the total coin market capitalization at $131 billion at the time of writing, compared to $125 billion on Tuesday.
Ethereum, or Ether, increased 9% to $150.60 and Litecoin was at $32.231 up 5%, while XRP jumped 3.4% to $0.36430.
Meanwhile, the UK is investigating 18 companies involved in digital coin sales, according to The Financial Times. The Financial Conduct Authority has not revealed the names of the companies, but says it suspects them of market irregularities. Another dozen or so companies were sent warnings over suspicions of investment scams.
In November the FCA had opened inquiries into 67 companies involved in digital coin offerings. The latest news indicates that 49 cases have been closed, with 39 given consumer warnings.
In other news, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) changed plans to debut a digital currency after tightening controls on cryptocurrency exchanges, Hindu Business Line reported on Tuesday.
“The government doesn’t want the digital currency anymore. It thinks it is too early to even think about a digital currency,” Hindu Business Line quoted an anonymous source as saying.