Investing.com – Bitcoin prices rose on Wednesday, along with other major cryptocurrencies, despite reports that Australia put crypto providers under direct purview under the country’s money-laundering watchdog.
Bitcoin was trading at $6,962.9 by 12:05PM ET (03:56GMT) on the Bitfinex exchange, up 1.7% over the previous 24 hours.
Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, jumped 5.4% at $436.55 on the Bitfinex exchange.
Ripple’s XRP token surged 9.5% to $0.53995 on the Poloniex exchange.
Meanwhile, Litecoin added 2.6% to $116.34.
In a move to help minimize the risk of money laundering activities, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (AUSTRAC), the country’s money-laundering watchdog, announced in a statement on Wednesday that all digital currency exchange providers operating within the country must register with AUSTRAC, effective immediately.
The move is part of Australia’s reforms to strengthen its “Anti-Money Laundering And Counter Terrorism Financing Act (AML/CTF)”, according to reports.
"AUSTRAC now has increased opportunities to facilitate the sharing of financial intelligence and information relating to the use of digital currencies, such as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, with its industry and government partners," chief executive Nicole Rose said.
"The information that these businesses will collect and report to AUSTRAC will have immediate benefit in the fight against serious crime and terrorism financing."
The news came few days after CBA announced that it was blocking all credit card purchases of virtual currencies, as “virtual currencies do not meet a minimum standard of regulation, reliability, and reputation.’
A separate report suggested that a total of $10,692,438 have been scammed out of Australians in January, with most victims losing their cryptocurrencies through fake Bitcoin websites.