Investing.com – Cryptocurrency prices were higher on Monday as the sector pushed for a Christmas rally before the end of the year.

Bitcoin rose 4.5% to $3,430.10 on the Investing.com Index as of 9:05 AM ET (14:05 GMT).

Digital coins have fallen dramatically in recent weeks traders worry about increased regulatory scrutiny and volatility.

Cryptocurrencies overall were higher, with the total coin market capitalization at $108 billion at the time of writing, compared to $104 billion on Sunday.

Ethereum, or Ether, increased 3.5% to $89.83 and Litecoin was at $28.05, up 9.8%, while XRP jumped 4.2% to $0.30275.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency published a draft report on Friday which contains a number of recommendations aimed at the digital currency sector. Among them is a requirement for exchanges to increase management of customer property, including keys. The FSA also states that exchanges need to have net assets equal to the currency and repayment funds in the event of a hack.

The regulator has been working to implement ways to handle security breaches in the sector after two hacks of major Japanese exchanges: Coincheck in January and Zaif in September.

In other news, Hong Kong’s financial regulator is tightening down on digital coins. The Securities and Futures Commission will soon require local investment funds to obtain a license if more than 10% of the assets they manage are made up of cryptocurrencies. The rules are being introduced due to concerns over fraud and money laundering.

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