The major cryptocurrencies have recorded significant gains over the course of the past 24 hours. The valuation of the market has gone above US$440 billion, moving closer to the US$0.5 trillion level.
Bitcoin (BTC) has kept its head above the US$9K line overnight despite a number of sharp sell-offs that threaten to derail its northward momentum. BTC is currently priced at US$9,419, a nearly 3% bump at press time.
Ethereum (ETH) is also rising after clearing the US$700 mark earlier today, up a buoyant 9%.
CLICK BELOW FOR LIVE CRYPTOCURRENCY PRICE INDEXES:
ETH has seen its price rise by 7% this week, and has attracted significant investment. There have been other noteworthy gains in the crypto marketplace as
WanChain (WAN),
Golem (GNT) and
Ontology (ONT) also recorded daily increases in the range of 10 percent to 50 percent.
Influenced by the listing of
Bithumb, the price of GNT – the leading cryptocurrency exchange in the South Korean market – rose over 50 percent.
Shortly following the listing of Golem by
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, the price of GNT rose by over 20 percent.
EU votes for closer regulation of cryptocurrencies. Why?
The European Parliament recently voted in favour of a more stringent regulation against the use of virtual currencies in funding terrorism and money laundering. It also supported a bill previously passed to ensure that exchanges are forced to register with the relevant authorities. This move is only the start of several clamp-downs from huge economies who worry about the potential of crypto.
The reforms will give citizens the right to access information on the beneficial owners of firms which operate in the EU, could help quash the corrupt use of letterbox companies created to launder money, hide wealth, and avoid paying taxes.