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Bitcoin has had a tough start to the year, plummeting to a two month low on Friday, falling as low as $7,700. But the cryptocurrency could bounce back with a meeting this week of the US Senate Banking Committee on regulation of cryptocurrencies in the country, according to Brian Kelly, the CEO of an investment firm focused on digital currencies. Speaking to CNBC, he said: “Next week we’ve got a big event here in the US, we’ve talked a lot about the regulatory pressures that have come from South Korea and from China and other places. “But we’ve got something coming up in the US that I think could be a big event for us.”

CNCB•GETTY Bitcoin could get a boost from a US committee meeting this week

This could be a green light to institutional investors Brian Kelly

“So on February 6th the Senate Banking Committee are having a meeting and they’re going to be talking about what the regulatory oversight role of the SEC and the CFTC should be when it comes to cryptocurrencies and virtual currencies.” The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the US government which regulates the securities industry and stock and options exchanges. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulates futures and options markets. Kelly said the meeting could provide clarity for institutional investors who have been sceptical about jumping on the bitcoin bandwagon. He said: “The bullish part of this is it could give some regulatory clarity.