Investing.com - Cryptocurrencies were lower on Friday, as Bitcoin continues to struggle to maintain momentum.
Bitcoin was trading at $7,575.60, falling 1.70% the Bitfinex exchange, as of 10:12 AM ET (14:12 GMT), not far from a session low of $7,559.10.
Other digital coins were lower on Friday, with Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, falling 2.28% to $594.50 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple, the third largest virtual currency, decreased 2.63% to $0.66426 while Litecoin was at $119.03, down 2.39%.
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 also lower, with total market capitalization at $339 billion at the time of writing compared to $354 billion on Monday.
Meanwhile Canada’s Quebec province has halted approval for cryptocurrency mining project as it considers raising the rates for power and other restrictions. The state-owned power generator Hydro Quebec has asked the government to limit the power available to all miners to 500 megawatts, far lower than the 17,000 megawatts requested so far.
Canada has one of the lowest power rates in the world and has been fighting numerous applications from digital mining companies around the global who want to take advantage.