Investing.com - Cryptocurrency prices were slightly lower on Monday as China moved to regulate blockchain companies.
Bitcoin was down 1.48% to $6,537.60 on the Bitfinex exchange, as of 9:17 AM ET (13:17 GMT).
Cryptocurrencies overall were steady with the total coin market capitalization at $210 billion at the time of writing, compared to $211 billion on Sunday, according to Coinmarketcap.
Ethereum,or Ether, decreased 1.97% to $205.71 and Litecoin was at $51.750, down 1.91%, while XRP slumped 2.9% to $0.45700.
Chinese officials are looking to regulate blockchain. The country already bans many aspects of cryptocurrency trading and platforms.
A draft policy from the the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) showed that the rules, if enacted, would apply to any China-based company regarded as a blockchain information service provider.
The rules would require blockchain service providers to register with the agency, including names, service types, industry fields and server addresses. The information would become publicly available and the CAC would conduct reviews on a yearly basis.
If approved, it would be China’s first regulatory framework that targets the blockchain industry.
In other news, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is expected to publish its cryptocurrency regulation by June 2019. The global agency combates money laundering and is set to target virtual coins. The new rules will require every jurisdiction to properly license or regulate crypto exchanges and some firms to provide encrypted wallets.
FATF President Marshall Billingslea said the watchdog will conduct periodic reviews to ensure countries are properly implementing the new rules.
“By June, we will issue additional instructions on the standards and how we expect them to be enforced,” he said.