Bitcoin Rises Above $10,000; U.S. Congress to Discuss Crypto with SEC on Sept 24

© Reuters.

Investing.com – Bitcoin traded higher and rose above the key $10,000 level once again on Friday in Asia.

Bitcoin gained 3.6% to $10,194.0 by 1:19 AM ET (05:19 GMT). Ethereum jumped 6.1% to $217.78, XRP inched up 0.9% to $0.29319, while Litecoin traded 2.1% higher to $74.938.

While not a directional driver, The United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services has scheduled a hearing, titled “Oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission: Wall Street’s Cop on the Beat,” with Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton and four other SEC commissioners to discuss cryptocurrency next week.

According to a memorandum published on Thursday, the hearing would also look into Facebook’s proposed launch of its own cryptocurrency, Libra.

“The Libra Investment Token could amount to a security since it is intended to be sold to investors to fund startup costs and would provide them with dividends. The Libra token itself may also be a security, but Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) does not intend to pay dividends and it is unclear if investors would have a ‘reasonable expectation of profits,’” the document said.

Separately, Clayton said at the “Delivering Alpha” conference on Thursday that Bitcoin will need more regulation before it could be allowed to be traded on a major exchange.

“If [investors] think there’s the same rigor around that price discovery as there is on the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange… They are sorely mistaken. […] We have to get to a place where we can be confident that trading is better regulated.”

Citing his remarks, CNBC said all previous attempts to bring Bitcoin to the mainstream have been blocked by regulators due to concerns of the digital coins’ volatile nature.