Investing.com - The price of digital currency bitcoin neared the $10,000 level on Wednesday, climbing 11% as it continued to recover from heavy selloffs earlier this month.
Bitcoin was trading at $9,888 on the Bitfinex exchange, up around 11% for the day. It was the highest level since Feb. 1.
The price is up over 19% for the last week after falling to a more than two month low of $6,000 on February 6. The price remains more than 30% lower for the year to date.
Cryptocurrency prices fell sharply at the start of the year as governments clamped down on trading and major banks implemented a ban on using credit cards to buy digital currencies.
Prices were also been hit by fears over potential price manipulation. U.S. regulators are investigating the Bitfinex exchange over its links to digital asset Tether, amid fears that it is being used to artificially inflate bitcoin prices.
But market sentiment recovered after South Korea indicated Wednesday that it will allow cryptocurrencies to continue operating in the country, welcome news for investors who had feared an outright ban.
Last week’s comments from U.S. financial regulators that balanced regulation with consumer protection have also helped prices recover.
Other major cryptocurrencies also traded higher, with Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, climbing around 9% to $944.28.
The third largest cryptocurrency Ripple gained around 10% to trade at $1.12.
Meanwhile, Litecoin rallied for a second day, as prices were boosted following reports that LitePay, a payment infrastructure for Ltecoin is set to be launched as soon as 26 February.
Litecoin was trading at $229.08, up around 26% for the day.
A price jump in Litecoin on Wednesday saw it overtake Cardano to become the fifth largest cryptocurrency by market cap.