Bitcoin Inches Up as Chinese Mining Company Considers U.S. Listing

Investing.com – Cryptocurrency prices were mixed on Tuesday amid news that a Chinese Bitcoin mining company is considering making a public listing in the U.S.

Bitcoin rose 0.7% to $4,013.30 on the Investing.com Index, as of 8:13 AM ET (13:13 GMT).

Canaan, China’s second-biggest maker of hardware used by miners, is considering an initial public offering after it cancelled plans for a listing in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported.

The listing could happen as soon as the first half of 2019, Bloomberg reported.

Cryptocurrencies overall were slightly lower, with the total coin market capitalization at $136 billion at the time of writing, compared to $138 billion on Monday.

Ethereum,or Ether, inched down 0.4% to $150.61 and Litecoin was at $39.425, up 4.6%, while XRP rose 0.2% to $0.364.

In other news, the Bank for International Settlements said on Tuesday that most central banks do not wish to issue e-currency any time soon.

The survey from the BIS, a global institution owned by central banks, found that most banks are uncertain about digital coins.

“At this stage, most central banks appear to have clarified the challenges of launching a CBDC but they are not yet convinced that the benefits will outweigh the costs,” the BIS said.

The report included responses from 63 central banks. Only five banks have begun some type of e-money pilot program, including the banks of Sweden and Uruguay, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England, and the European Central Bank. More than 85% of banks surveyed said they were unlikely to issue any type of e-currency in the next three years.

“To meet the payment needs of the future, physical cash is unlikely to be the main answer,” the Swiss-based BIS said. “Yet, most people will have to wait to use a CBDC. However, central banks are working hard to make sure the wait is worth it.

-Reuters contributed to this report.

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