Investing.com - Bitcoin was slightly higher on Tuesday, as Coinbase becomes the first U.S. exchange to receive SEC approval.
Bitcoin was trading at $6,699.20, rising 0.83% on the Bitfinex exchange, as of 8:28 AM ET (12:28 GMT).
Cryptocurrencies overall were slightly higher. The coin market cap of total market capitalization increased to $269 billion at the time of writing compared to $266 billion on Monday.
Ripple, the third largest virtual currency, increased 0.63% to $0.47080 while Litecoin was at $82.811, down 0.40%. Meanwhile Ethereum fell 0.97% to $470.06 on the Bitfinex exchange.
Platform exchange Coinbase received the greenlight from U.S. regulators to offer tokens that are considered securities. The company said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority approved the exchanges purchase of Keystone Capital Corp., Venovate Marketplace and Digital Wealth. The acquisition approvals means Coinbase will receive a license to operate as a broker deal and as an alternative trading system.
It would be the first federally regulated exchange platform for digital securities but could soon be joined by others. Competing site Circle Internet Financial said last month it was seeking registration with the SEC as a broker and trading exchange.
Meanwhile one of the largest investment associations added cryptocurrencies to their currency. The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), which has about 150,000 accredited members, will add information about blockchain and digital tokens to its exam. The test is considered one of the most difficult finance tests and less than half fail in the first round of testing.
"We saw the field [of crypto] advancing more quickly than other fields and we also saw it as more durable… This is not a passing fad," Stephen Horan, managing director for CFA education and curriculum, told Bloomberg.