Investing.com - Bitcoin broke through the key $4,000 level and other major coins also advanced on Thursday morning in Asia.
It was the second day in a row that cryptocurrencies traded in the green, pushing their market cap higher to nearly $143 billion.
On Thursday morning, Bitcoin added 0.96% to $4,025.2 by 11:40 PM ET (03:40 AM GMT).
Meanwhile, Ethereum gained 1.33% to $138.86, XRP went up 0.79% to $0.30794 and Litecoin rose 4.44% to $61.041.
There were notable reports on crypto regulation that provided fodder for investors.
The Technology Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) discussed crypto regulation in a meeting on Wednesday.
Ethereum came into the spotlight. CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz said Ethereum’s shift from being based on a protocol known as “proof-of-work” (the same protocol as Bitcoin) to one known as “proof-of-stake” could pose regulatory concerns. These concerns include potential manipulation or falsification of the ledger that is the backbone of the blockchain technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible. Last year, the CFTC looked into how the technology behind the Ethereum blockchain is different from that of Bitcoin.
Swiss-based crypto mining firm Envion AG also attracted attention among traders after its ICO was deemed illegal by Swiss regulators. Under the Swiss Banking Act, all companies receiving deposits from the public must first obtain a banking licence.
The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) said Envion’s ICO raised around $90.5 million from at least 37,000 investors without such a license. FINMA said it will continue to target startups that raise funds illegally through issuing tokens.
Envion is currently undergoing liquidation proceedings by the Zug bankruptcy authority. The startup claims to combine cryptocurrency mining with green power.