Investing.com - Prices of Bitcoin and other major digital coins dropped on Tuesday in Asia after reports that the Eurasian Economic Commission is preparing to impose crypto regulations in the area.
According to Russian news agency TASS, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is looking to build a robust crypto space and is working on a report to define cryptocurrencies and study regulations in different countries. The EAEU is a political and economic union established in 2014 by Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It aims to consolidate the financial market in the area by 2025.
Tatyana Valovaya, minister for integration and macroeconomics at the Eurasian Economic Commission, said a legal framework for crypto is absolutely necessary.
Still, the former Soviet bloc is embracing cryptocurrency. Russia’s Ministry of Finance is considering launching a digital token backed by EAEU countries as a response to U.S. sanctions and Belarus’ largest bank, Belarusbank, said it might set up a crypto exchange.
The news that the commission is studying new regulations sent cryptocurrencies lower on Tuesday morning. Bitcoin lost 2.10% to $3,417.7 by 10:57 PM ET (03:57 GMT).
Ethereum edged down 3.67% to $104.55, XRP was down 2.66% to $ 0.28945, and Litecoin shed 2.14% to $30.73.
Crypto prices have been on a downward trajectory. The total coin market capitalization tumbled to $112.8 billion on Tuesday, compared to $120.15 billion last Friday.
In other news, four major crypto exchanges in South Korea joined hands to fight money laundering, The Korea Herald reported. Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit and Coinone established a hotline for users to report on unusual trading or payments that could be associated with crimes.
This follows a move by 16 crypto exchanges in Japan to form the Japanese Virtual Currency Exchange Association to oversee the crypto space in the country.