Investing.com - Cryptocurrencies were flat on Thursday, as South Korea ruled virtual currencies an asset and China’s leader endorsed blockchain.
Bitcoin was trading at $7,541.10, rising 0.22% the Bitfinex exchange, as of 10:11 AM ET (14:11 GMT).
The digital currency still struggled to gain ground, after falling toa six-and-a-half week low last week amid reports that the U.S. Justice Department is looking into whether traders are manipulating the price of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.
Other digital coins were mixed, with Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, rising 0.29% to $570.14 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple, the third largest virtual currency, decreased 0.45% to $0.61025 while Litecoin was at $119.60, down 0.88%.
The South Korean Supreme Court has ruled that cryptocurrencies are an asset because they have measurable value and as such can be confiscated in criminal cases.
The ruling stemmed from the case against a Korean man who operated an online pornography site. Prosecutors seized his cash as well as 191 bitcoins held in a wallet at an exchange.
Meanwhile Chinese President Xi Jinping endorsed blockchain earlier this week, in a speech stressing the importance of China being the leader in science and innovation.
“A new generation of technology represented by artificial intelligence, quantum information, mobile communications, internet of things and blockchain is accelerating breakthrough applications," he said, adding that that a new industrial revolution was reshaping the global economy.
Although China does not allow trading on cryptocurrency exchanges, it does support the technology behind the digital coins.