Investing.com - Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were higher on Monday as news that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will review the applications of Bitcoin exchange traded funds continued to bolster digital coins.
Bitcoin rose 0.20% to $6,725.10 on the Bitfinex exchange, as of 8:17 AM ET (12:17 GMT).
Cryptocurrencies overall were higher, with the coin market cap of total market capitalization at $217 billion at the time of writing, compared to $212 billion on Friday.
Ethereum, the second-biggest alternative currency by market cap, rose 0.50% to $276.25 while XRP, the third-largest virtual currency, increased 1.41% to $0.32780 and Litecoin was at $57.509, up 0.62%.
Virtual coins were bolstered on Friday after the SEC said it would review a decision to reject the applications of Bitcoin ETFs. Last week the SEC rejected the applications from nine companies to list their Bitcoin ETFs, citing concerns about fraud and manipulation of bitcoin markets.
Meanwhile, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) applied for a blockchain patent to secure the storage of cryptocurrency. The financial giant has filed 50 patents in relation to blockchain and digital currency.
The Aug. 23 patent is described as an application that implements encryption and links data to certain blocks of blockchain as a form of data security.
Bank of America is just one of a number of financial institutions that have filed patents related to cryptocurrency. While many bank executives have spoken out against Bitcoin and other coins, the companies have shown increasing interest in blockchain, the technology behind virtual currencies.