Investing.com - Bitcoin and other virtual coins were higher on Tuesday, as financial institutions consider cryptocurrency trading.
Bitcoin was trading at a one-month high of $9,341.00, rising 4.45% as of 8:49 AM ET (12:49 GMT) on the Bitfinex exchange.
Other virtual currencies were higher, with rival Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, surging 8.81% to $698.54 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple, the third largest virtual currency, was up 5.90% to $0.92676 while Litecoin was at $162.44, an increase of 6.69%.
One in five financial institutions are considering trading virtual currencies in the next year, according to a Thomson Reuters survey.
Around 70% of the 400 respondents, including asset managers, hedge funds, and trading desks, are planning to start trading in the next three to six months.
Interest in cryptocurrencies has increased after the price skyrocketed to $20,000 in December. Some banks are exploring client interest in the virtual coins and a few hedge funds have already started trading the digital currencies.
In other news, the Chinese city of Shenzhen is supporting a blockchain-focused investment fund. While Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are banned in China, the country is warming up to blockchain, the technology behind virtual coins like Bitcoin.
Shenzhen will support a fund that plans to allocate $80 million to blockchain startups in the city. The move follows a similar announcement by the People’s Bank of China last month, when it launched a blockchain service platform in Hangzhou.
Meanwhile virtual coins were supported by news that Malta is supportive of cryptocurrency exchange and companies. The government is planning to establish fair rules and regulations that “will offer legal certainty in a space that is currently unregulated.” One of the world’s largest exchanges, Binance, plans to relocation from Hong Kong to Malta.