Investing.com - Cryptocurrencies overall traded slightly lower on Monday as a drop in bitcoin outweighed gains in the next four largest alt coins.
Total cryptocurrency market capitalization dropped to $265.65 billion by 10:37 AM ET (14:37 GMT), compared to $266.20 billion a day earlier.
Bitcoin fell 0.6% to $9,606.2 on the Investing.com Index, although its four closest rivals were all trading higher. Bitcoin, he largest digital coin, represents more than 60% of the total market.
Ethereum gained 0.7% to $209.11, XRP edged forward 0.1% to $0.30994, Litecoin traded up 0.7% to $89.49, while Bitcoin Cash rose 1.0% to $307.70.
In sector news, the Iranian cabinet authorized crypto mining as an industrial activity with the move taken as a first step towards legalizing cryptocurrencies, according to Mehr News Agency.
The government did note that users of alt coins were solely responsible for the risks involved and that the use of digital currency was still not permitted.
Elsewhere, the Swiss Financial Services Standards Association granted a license to Aximetria, a firm that offers a personal finance app for both fiat currencies and digital coins. The license permits Aximetria to start operations as crypto financial intermediary and means that the company is fully compliant with Switzerland’s anti-money-laundering legislation.