The price of Bitcoin (Bitcoin) has seen a roughly 5% bump in the last day, and the cause appears to be a potential rescue for the hacked cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck—from financial services company Monex.
Bitcoin prices hit a high of $7,430.56 following the news, whereas Monex shares surged 23% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
According to our online Bitcoin (BTC/USD) Chart, it is now traded around $7,365:
Brian Kelly, founder and CEO of BK Capital Management, said the possibility of a Monex deal bolstered views that mainstream cryptocurrency adoption is on the way, helping bitcoin prices Tuesday.
"It's a massive confidence boost, you now have a regulated public company in Japan buying into a crypto exchange," Kelly said. "This puts a stamp of approval, and Japan is a huge driver of this market."
Japanese online broker Monex is offering to buy Coincheck, the local cryptocurrency exchange hit by a high-profile $530 million theft of digital money. According to the report, Monex will reportedly offer several billion yen for a majority stake in the Tokyo-based exchange.
If agreement is reached, the firm will install a new management team and rebuild the cryptocurrency exchange under its own aegis. The deal is yet to be officially announced.
By Jade Olafson