Investing.com – Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies edged down on Friday morning in Asia, as digital token protocol Basis halted operations and returned its capital to investors due to regulatory concerns.

Bitcoin lost 3.08% to $3,305 and Ethereum also dropped 2.42% to $86.2 at 10:43PM ET (02:43 GMT).

XRP slipped 1.32% to $0.29919, while Litecoin fell 3.35% to $23.191.

Aimed to launch a stable and decentralised token resistant to volatility, Basis announced on Thursday its decision to shut down and return capital to its investors.

The company cited the “serious negative impact” of the need to comply with U.S. securities regulation.

“As regulatory guidance started to trickle out over time, our lawyers came to a consensus that there would be no way to avoid securities status for bond and share tokens, though Basis would like to be free of this characterisation,” Basis CEO Nader Al-Naji said in a statement.

The startup’s investors included Google’s capital investment arm GV, Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Ventures, among others.

Still, some countries remain interested in driving digital currencies.

The Gulf Times reported that the central bank of the United Arab Emirates is working on a joint project with the Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority to launch a cryptocurrency for cross-border transactions.

“This would be more efficient. This is between us and the banks,” said UAE central bank Governor Mubarak Rashed Al Mansouri.

French politicians also urged President Emmanuel Macron to invest EUR500 million in the blockchain sector. They presented a report on the ledger technology on Wednesday which proposed making France a “blockchain nation,” according to Cryptovest.

“This 10-year-old [blockchain] technology is moving out of the experimental stage into an industrial implementation. The public will see the development of its uses in everyday life,” Jean-Michel Mis from the ruling party La Republique En Marche said.

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