Investing.com - Cryptocurrencies were higher on Wednesday, while South Korea’s legislature has proposed lifting an initial coin offering ban.
Bitcoin was trading at $7,545.20, rising 1.65% the Bitfinex exchange, as of 8:40 AM ET (12:40 GMT).
The digital currency was still down 4% over the week, compared to a fall of 10% week-over-week on Tuesday. Bitcoin had fallen to a a 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.
In South Korea, the national legislature proposed allowing domestic ICO offerings, which would effectively lift a ban imposed in September 2017. Some lawmakers are also working on a bill that would legalize ICOs that meet certain conditions and would be under regulatory supervision.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin could become the next fear gauger of the market, Brian Stutland of Equity Armor Investments told CNBC on Tuesday.
"Bitcoin is sort of becoming the new VIX, in sort of getting ahead of credit risk in the banking industry," he said.
The VIX is a measure of volatility that is often used as a fear gauge for the market. The rise in popularity of virtual currencies is a way for investors to de-risk themselves from the banking industry, Stutland said.
The cryptocurrency market has rebounded in the last few days after steep declines last week. The total market cap was at $331 billion at the time of writing, compared to $323 billion on Tuesday.
Other digital coins were up slightly, with Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, rising 2.48% to $571.82 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple, the third largest virtual currency, increased 3.56% to $0.61581 while Litecoin was at $121.84, up 0.70%.