Investing.com - Bitcoin rallied for a eighth-consecutive day on Wednesday as prices of the largest digital currency now trade near the $12,000 level.
Bitcoin surged 7.6% to $11,998.9 by 11:26 PM ET (03:26 GMT). Ethereum jumped 6.2% to $331.82, while XRP traded 2% higher to 0.47973. Litecoin climbed 1.0% to $137.312.
Following the bull run, Bitcoin has now reversed most of its 2018 losses. The rally was fuelled by social media giant Facebook’s announcement of a potential launch of Libra, its own cryptocurrency.
“Bitcoin has slowly - by its own standards – been rising in recent months but the launch of Facebook’s Libra has clearly been a catalyst for the recent surge,” Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at the financial trading firm Oanda, told The Guardian in an article published June 24.
“The publicity that the launch has once again brought to the space, combined with the legitimacy it offers, has understandably excited the community,” Erlam added.
However, chairwoman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee warned that Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) should only continue the Libra project after the lawmakers and regulators have scrutinized it.
“Given the company’s troubled past, I am requesting that Facebook agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on developing a cryptocurrency until Congress and regulators have the opportunity to examine these issues and take action,” she said.
The committee will hold a hearing on Libra on July 17 to examine its impact on consumers and the U.S. financial system.
On Tuesday, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said that Libra stablecoin must comply with anti-money laundering regulation and seek banking licenses if it offers banking services.
“If the project seeks to go beyond payments to offering banking services like deposits, it will then have to be regulated like a bank with a banking license in all the countries it operates. Otherwise it would be illegal,” said Villeroy.
Meanwhile, Stephen Moore, former economic adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, expressed support for Libra yesterday, saying that “on balance it is a good thing.”