Bitcoin regains ground, nears $10,000

Story by: VICTOR REKLAITIS

The price for bitcoin was moderately higher early Monday, and well off Friday’s low as the world’s No. 1 cryptocurrency looks to claw back some recent losses.

A single bitcoin BTCUSD, -4.36% was recently changing hands at $9,731.33, up 2.1% on the day and up from $8,981.03 late Friday in New York.

Bitcoin dropped about 20% last week, with analysts blaming the selloff in part on regulatory worries, such as a Wednesday warning on crypto-trading platforms from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The People’s Bank of China also sounded downbeat on digital currencies last week. Zhou Xiaochuan—the central bank’s governor—said Friday that Beijing does not recognize bitcoin and other virtual currencies as legitimate forms of payment, according to a Reuters report.

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“Cryptocurrencies are still in the early stages of development,” said Matthew Newton, an analyst at eToro, which offers a crypto-trading platform, in a recent note. “As the market grows, regulatory scrutiny is to be expected. Appropriate regulation should ultimately help promote best practice and afford protection to the consumer.”

Ether is up 1.7% at $734.69, Bitcoin Cash is lower by 2.2% at $1,114.27, Litecoin is up 0.6% at $189.70 and Ripple is at $0.83, down 0.4%, according to news and research firm CoinDesk.

On Monday, futures markets tracked spot prices higher. The Cboe Global Markets March contract XBTH8, +0.60% was recently up 6.5% to $9,730, while the CME Group Inc. March contract BTCH8, +2.00% gained 8.2% to $9,770.

Original story: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bitcoin-rises-modestly-after-recent-slump-2018-03-12

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