Investing.com - Bitcoin and other virtual coins inched down on Friday, amid news that Monex Group is acquiring cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck and
Bitcoin was trading at $6,605.10, decreasing 1.03% as of 9:17 AM ET (14:17 GMT) the Bitfinex exchange. The virtual currency is far from its peak of $20,000 in December 2017 and has struggled to recover since falling below $6,000 in February.
Japanese online brokerage Monex Group announced it was acquiring cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck on Friday for ¥3.6 billion, roughly amounting to over $33 million.
Coincheck was hit with a $530 million theft of virtual currency earlier this year. It’s believed to be one of the top exchanges in Japan.
Coincheck’s existing management will step down, including the founder and CEO, Koichiro Wada and the COO Yusuke Otsuka.
In other news, India is set to regulate cryptocurrencies. The Reserve Bank of India has ordered all regulated institutions to stop providing services to business involved in digital currencies.
In an official press release, the RBI cited multiple claims that cryptocurrencies are potential tools for criminals and those looking to undermine market integrity.
“Reserve Bank has repeatedly cautioned users, holders and traders of virtual currencies, including Bitcoins, regarding various risks associated in dealing with such virtual currencies,” the regulator stated.
Other virtual currencies were down, with rival Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, falling 2.12% to $367.72 on the Bitfinex exchange. Ripple, the third largest virtual currency, decreased 2.57% to $0.46630 while $$$/LTC was at $113.77, a decline of 2.39%.