Bitcoin Stays Steady at $8,000

Investing.com - Bitcoin and other virtual currencies rose on Friday, as investors shrugged off regulation worries.

Bitcoin was trading at $8,465.20, increasing 5.26% as of 11:24 AM ET (15:24 GMT) on the Bitfinex after hitting an overnight low of $7,925.00.The cryptocurrency 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 3.23% to $616.27 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple, the third largest virtual currency, was up 0.91% to $0.69500while Litecoin was last at $168.20, an increase of 1.94%.

In France, the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) added 15 cryptocurrency websites to its blacklist, meaning the platforms cannot market in France without the prior permission from the stock market regulator.

“The investment proposals highlighting the possibility of financial returns or similar economic effects involve intermediation in miscellaneous assets and are now subject to ex ante control by the AMF. Consequently, no offer can be directly marketed in France without prior allocation by the AMF of a registration number,” said AMF in the statement.

Meanwhile in South Korea, Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said on TBS Radio that the government remains firm about regulating virtual currencies.

“Cryptocurrencies are subject to market manipulation and illegal activities and require some regulation,” he said. “Discussions with ministries are ongoing, as we look for a sound, safe system to work with.”

Central bankers and regulators are meeting next week at the G20 Finance Ministers summit in Argentina, where leaders are expected to discuss cryptocurrencies.

In other news, hedge fund billionaire Alan Howard, co-founder of Brevan Howard Asset Management, invested his personal money into digital currencies last year and plans to invest more, Bloomberg reported.