Bitcoin’s price staggered on Wednesday (March 7), Reuters reported. The price of the marquee name in cryptocurrencies dipped as low as $9,450 in intraday trading when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced there were “potentially unlawful” systems operating that allow the trading of cryptocurrencies. As of 7:48 p.m., the price of bitcoin was $9,929.11.
Litecoin did not have a stellar day either. The cryptocurrency dropped to $189, which is the lowest it has been since Feb. 23, Coindesk reported. That drop occurred after the Litecoin cash (LCC) hard fork.
As social media companies focus on preventing harmful content from spreading across their platforms, Twitter seeks to stop cryptocurrency scams from circulating as well. But it’s not clear exactly which measures the company is taking to address the issue, Bloomberg reported. Twitter is aware of crypto “manipulation,” and the company said it’s taking steps to “prevent these types of accounts from engaging with others in a deceptive manner,” a spokesperson told Bloomberg.
And Wyoming recently passed a law that would make some digital coins exempt from regulation, TechCrunch reported. With H.B. No. 0070, the state said that “open blockchain tokens” are not subject to regulation or legislation on money sending. But investors should take note: The law only covers “utility tokens” that are to be used to buy services.
At the federal level, a U.S. district judge has ruled that cryptocurrencies are, in fact, commodities, Coindesk reported. “Virtual currencies are ‘goods’ exchanged in a market for a uniform quality and value … They fall well within the common definition of ‘commodity,’” Judge Jack Weinstein wrote on Wednesday (March 6). As a result, digital currencies can be regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
In cryptocurrency exchange news, many users have complained on Reddit that Binance sold their altcoins – without their permission, TheNextWeb reported. In response to those concerns, a spokesperson for Binance did say the company is looking into the problems reported on Reddit. “Our team is aware and investigating the issue as we speak,” a support representative from Binance wrote on Reddit. “Please remain patient and we will provide an update as quickly as possible.”
And, in Japan, Ripple has created a new way for payments to instantly settle transactions, CNBC reported. “Money Tap,” as the app has been dubbed, was developed with the help of a consortium of 61 banks in Japan. The first banks to initially use the platform will be SBI Net Sumishin Bank, Suruga Bank and Resona Bank.
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