Investing.com - Bitcoin and Ethereum, the world's two-biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap, were higher on Tuesday, one day after selling off sharply on news that China banned individuals and organizations from raising funds through initial coin offerings.
Bitcoin was at $4,253.60 by 8:40AM ET (1240GMT), up $53.60, or around 1.3%. It fell by more than 7% to an overnight low of $3,900.10. The digital currency rallied to an all-time high of $4,911.80 over the weekend.
Ethereum, Bitcoin's closest rival in terms of market cap, gained 2.6%, or $7.75, to $303.48, bouncing back from a low of $267.64. It briefly rose to a record peak of $394.78 on Saturday.
Other prominent cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Ripple and Dash also traded higher, rebounding from China-fueled losses from Monday.
The total value of all publicly traded cryptocurrencies was approximately $150 billion, a figure that was down more than 16% from a high of nearly $180 billion reached on Saturday night.
The People’s Bank of China said in a statement on Monday that it had completed investigations into ICOs, and will strictly punish offerings in the future while penalizing legal violations in ones already completed.
Individuals and organizations that have completed ICO fundraisings should make arrangements to return funds, the PBOC said, issuing the strongest regulatory challenge so far to the burgeoning market for digital token sales.
It also said digital token financing and trading platforms are prohibited from doing conversions of coins with fiat currencies.
The popularity of coin offerings has surged in China this year. ICOs have become a bonanza for digital currency entrepreneurs, allowing them to raise large sums quickly by creating and selling digital "tokens" with little or no regulatory oversight.
The Asian nation is poised to further tighten rules on virtual currencies, Chinese financial news outlet Yicai reported, with sources saying the announcement on the ban was just the start of further follow-up regulations of cryptocurrencies.
To stay on top of the latest moves in the crypto-space, be sure to check out: https://www.investing.com/crypto/