Investing.com - Bitcoin and other virtual currencies struggled for direction on Wednesday as a Twitter cryptocurrency ad ban and the closure of payment processor LitePay continues to weigh on investors.
Bitcoin was trading at $8,058.90, rising 1.37% as of 8:09 AM ET (12:09 GMT) the Bitfinex exchange, above its session low of $7,761.60. The cryptocurrency has struggled to gain ground after falling to $6,000 in early February and is far from its peak of $20,000 in December.
Litecoin was still weighed down by news that payment processor LitePay had terminated operations, just one month after its launch in February. Litecoin fell 3.86% to trade at $138.93.
Crypotos were held back by news that Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) has joined the ranks of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in banning cryptocurrency ads. The new policy will be rolled out over the next 30 days and will ban exchange platforms and wallet services not public companies listed on major stock exchanges.
In other news, Thailand only needs the king’s approval to pass a cryptocurrency regulation into law. The country’s cabinet has approved the royal decree, which would hand over regulation to the country’s financial regulator. All Thai Initial Coin Offerings would be regulated and investors would face a VAT rate of 7% on digital currency trading, in addition to a possible 15% capital gains tax.
Other virtual currencies were higher, with rival Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, inching up 0.57% to $461.38 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple, the third largest virtual currency, rose 1.12%% to $0.58924.