Investing.com – Cryptocurrencies were higher on Thursday, as Bitcoin slowly began to pare back its losses.

Bitcoin rise 2% to $4,293.60 on the Investing.com Index, as of 8:35 AM ET (13:35 GMT).

The digital coin gained some momentum after falling a low of $3,688 this week. Still, the current is trading at 30% less than its value in mid-November, when the coin dropped from above $6,500.

Cryptocurrencies overall were higher, with the total coin market capitalization at $137 billion at the time of writing, compared to $131 billion on Wednesday.

Ethereum,or Ether, increased 0.54% to $118.31 and Litecoin was at $34.86, up 0.82%, while XRP slumped 2% to $0.37899.

Lawmakers in South Korea have introduced legislation to help promote crypto trading, Seoul Finance reported.

Known as the Digital Asset Trading Promotion Act, it would establish a guideline for promoting exchanges and blockchain technology, as well as tax reductions and preventing market disturbances. Japan is already in the process of institutionalizing digital coin transactions, while the U.S. allows crypto derivatives trading.

In other news, Coinbase launched an over-the-counter desk for its Prime members, which includes hedge funds and others. The service allows clients to trade digital coins via Skype, email and phone.

Coinbase, which is one of the largest digital coin exchanges in the world, says its not part of the deals it helps clients complete but could eventually offer delayed settlement.

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