Investing.com – Cryptocurrencies’ prices gained on Thursday. Cambridge Analytica, the company behind the recent Facebook data scandal, is planning to develop its own digital currency, reports on Wednesday revealed.
Bitcoin was trading at $8,184.9 by 12:26AM ET (04:26GMT) on the Bitfinex exchange, up 2.8% over the previous 24 hours.
Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, gained 4.9% at $533.68 on the Bitfinex exchange.
XRP/USD’s XRP token surged 8.5% higher to $0.72665 on the Poloniex exchange.
Meanwhile, Litecoin added 4.6% to $141.3
Cambridge Analytica is looking into the possibilities of developing its own cryptocurrency to store and sell personal data, according to reports on Wednesday, which further added that the company is hoping to raise $30 million through initial coin offering (ICO).
“Prior to the Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) controversy, we were developing a suite of technologies to help individuals reclaim their personal data from corporate entities and to have full transparency and control over how their personal data are used,” a spokesperson from the company said.
“We were exploring multiple options for people to manage and monetise their personal data, including blockchain technology.”
Facebook exposed data on up to 87 million of its users to a researcher who worked at Cambridge Analytica in March, which reportedly worked for the Trump campaign.
The incident led to a slump in Facebook’s share price earlier this month and a plunge of almost $37 billion in the company’s value.