Investing.com - Cryptocurrency prices were slightly lower on Wednesday as European regulators said new rules may be needed to protect consumers from risks associated with digital coins.
Bitcoin fell 1.45% to $3,980.70 on the Investing.com Index, as of 8:41 AM ET (13:41 GMT).
Cryptocurrencies overall were slightly lower, with the total coin market capitalization at $137 billion at the time of writing, compared to $138 billion on Tuesday.
Ethereum, or Ether, inched down 1.75% to $149.30 and Litecoin was at $38.75, down 5.2%, while XRP rose 0.4% to $0.3651.
The European Banking Authority said in a report that digital coins fall outside the scope of regulators and more review is needed to provide a better picture, as little details are available.
“Given the pace and complexity of change, it would be desirable for a technologically neutral and future-proof approach to be adopted in developing any proposals should it be concluded that EU-level action is needed," EBA said.
Meanwhile, regulators in Japan are also looking at ways to close loopholes in current laws regarding virtual currencies. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) is considering closing a legal loophole that allows unregistered firms to solicit funds in cryptocurrencies instead of cash.
In November, Tokyo police arrested a group of scammers who collected digital coins and cash. Officials cited in the report said if the scam had solicited only cryptocurrency, the criminals may not have been arrested.