Today In Cryptocurrency: Bitfinex Cyberattack, New SEC Crypto Chief

The cryptocurrency market bounced back Tuesday from its slow start to the week, with most major cryptocurrencies trading higher by more than 3 percent. Here’s a look at some of the headlines that were moving the cryptocurrency market today — and which currencies were on the move.

Headlines

Notorious short seller and Kynikos Associates fund manager Jim Chanos bashed cryptocurrencies in a new interview with the Institute for Economic Thinking. Chanos called cryptos “a security speculation game masquerading as a technological breakthrough” and said cryptocurrency would hold absolutely no value in the event of a financial system collapse.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex briefly halted trading on Tuesday following a denial-of-service cyberattack on the platform. Trading resumed as of 10:00 a.m., and Bitfinex said on Twitter that all funds are safe and it is investigating the issue further.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Jay Clayton has named Valerie Szczepanik as the new senior advisor for digital assets and innovation. Szczepanik previously served as the assistant director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement’s cyber unit. The SEC is still in the process of determining how best to classify and regulate cryptocurrencies, but the agency has been vocal in warning investors of the dangers of cryptocurrency investing.

Price Action

The Bitcoin Investment Trust GBTC traded at $12.31, up 2.7 percent.

Here’s how several top crypto investments fared Tuesday. Prices are as of 3:45 p.m. ET and reflect the previous 24 hours.

• Bitcoin gained 1.8 percent to $7,637;
• Ethereum gained 3.0 percent to $609;
• Ripple gained 3.5 percent to 67 cents;
• Bitcoin Cash gained 4.3 percent to $1,149;
• EOS gained 3.3 percent to $14.10.

The three cryptocurrencies with at least $1-million market caps that have made the biggest gains over the past 24 hours are:

• DeusCoin: $1.7-million market cap, 115.6-percent gain.
• BitTube: $15.4-million market cap, 87.3-percent gain.
• WeAreSatoshi: $1.3-million market cap, 58.0-percent gain.
   

The three cryptocurrencies hit hardest in the past 24 hours were:

• Vsync: $1.4-million market cap, 31.8-percent decline.
• MagicCoin: $2.2-million market cap, 31.6-percent decline.
• FairCoin: $20.2-million market cap, 22.9-percent decline.

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