Investing.com - Cryptocurrencies rallied on Wednesday, as market sentiment improved and Bitcoin pushed pass the $7,500 resistance mark.
Bitcoin was trading at $7,618.8 rising 2.43% the Bitfinex exchange, as of 8:20 AM ET (12:20 GMT), not far from a session high of $7,659.80.
Other digital coins recovered on Wednesday, with Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, rising 2.69% to $604.17 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple, the third largest virtual currency, increased 1.42% to $0.67019 while Litecoin was at $121.42, up 3.04%.
Most virtual currencies plunged in May after the U.S. Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into the possibility that traders are manipulating the Bitcoin market. Virtual currencies have struggled to gain momentum since, with Bitcoin down 20% since early May.
The coin market cap was slighly higher, with total market capitalization at $344 billion at the time of writing compared to $335 billion on Tuesday.
In regulation news, the Securities Exchange Commision appointed it first senior crypto advisor.
Valerie A. Szczepanik will work in the corporate finance division and will be responsible for applications of US securities laws to “emerging” digital asset technologies such as initial coin offerings and cryptocurrencies.
Meanwhile trading firm Susquehanna International Group plans to offer Bitcoin futures and other digital coin products, joining other major finance players.
“We believe that this technology and this asset class is going to change some facet of financial services, and we think it is going to exist forever,” head of Susquehanna’s digital asset group Bart Smith said.
As virtual currencies have grown in popularity, Wall Street traders have jumped on board by offering futures trading services.