Investing.com – Bitcoin headed higher amid mixed cryptocurrency trading on Wednesday following news that Seed CX made a move to capture institutional investors via a bitcoin spot trading market.

Bitcoin edged forward 0.13% to $3,573 on the Investing.com Index as of 10:03 AM ET (15:03 GMT).

XRP traded down 0.81% to $0.31646, Ethereum, or Ether, fell 0.32% to $117.55, while Litecoin was at $31.817, up 0.62%.

Cryptocurrencies overall inched higher, with the total coin market capitalization at $120.6 billion at the time of writing, compared to $120.6 billion on Tuesday.

Seed CX, a crypto exchange startup based in Chicago, announced on Wednesday that it had launched a regulated platform for bitcoin spot trading in an attempt to lure institutional investors.

“We’re offering truly institutional level support. We are live,” the company’s co-founder and and chief executive Edward Woodford said.

The initial launch will include bitcoin/U.S. dollar with plans to add further pairing against the dollar for ether, litecoin and bitcoin cash by the end of January, while Woodford said that pairing against the euro and yen should happen in February.

In other sector news, the U.S.-based Blockchain Industries announced an agreement to merge with Singapore’s BTHMB Holdings into a single entity in order to become a publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange company.

“We are thrilled to be part of this important initiative that is expected to bring liquidity, accessibility and expansion to the blockchain industry,” Blockchain Industries Chief Executive Patrick Moynihan said. “By merging (…), we expect to bring more advanced technology and better compliance practices into the public marketplace via a consolidated focus.”

On the regulatory front, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority announced on Wednesday its request for consultation on cryptoassets “in order to provide regulatory clarity for market participants carrying on activities in this space.

“The cryptoasset market, and the underlying DLT technology, is developing quickly and participants need to be clear on where they are conducting activities that fall within the scope of the FCA’s regulatory remit and for which they require authorization”, the British regulator said.

The consultation period is expected to end on April 5.

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