Bitcoin vaulted above $29,000 to reach yet another record level on the last day of 2020, showing no signs of slowing down its torrid December rally. The largest cryptocurrency climbed to as high as $29,292 before pulling back slightly to trade at $28,520 as of 9:12 a.m. in Hong Kong Thursday. The Securities and Exchange Commission this month accused Ripple Labs Inc. and its top executives of misleading investors in affiliated token XRP. While Ripple plans to challenge the accusation in the courts, the development underscores the prospect of stricter oversight of digital assets. XRP has plummeted almost 70% this month and faces further pressure with Coinbase the latest exchange to announce plans to suspend trading in the token.

Source: Mint December 31, 2020 01:30 UTC