Crypto Moves — Bitcoin, Ether down; Russia to legalise cryptocurrency; Coinbase establishes think tank; Bitso launches in Colombia

Crypto Moves — Bitcoin, Ether down; Russia to legalise cryptocurrency; Coinbase establishes think tank; Bitso launches in Colombia

RIYADH: Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency internationally, traded lower on Thursday, down 1.73 percent to $29,293 as of 10:10 a.m. Riyadh time. Ether, the second most traded cryptocurrency, was priced at $1,965, down 3.03 percent, according to data from Coindesk. Russia will sooner or later legalize cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said on Wednesday, suggesting that the government and central bank may be moving closer to settling their differences. Manturov was asked at a forum whether he believed cryptocurrencies would become legal as a means of payment. “The question is, when this happens, how it will be regulated, now that the central bank and government are actively working on it,” he replied. “But everyone tends to understand that, sooner or later this will be implemented, in some format or other.” Russia has plans to issue its own digital rouble, but the government has only recently come round to supporting the use of private cryptocurrencies, having argued for years that they could be used in money laundering or to finance terrorism. Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, is launching a global think tank to shape the policy debate around digital assets as regulators