Bitcoin marches towards $12,000

Bitcoin rose on Monday for the fifth straight session to a two-week high, heading steadily for the coveted $12,000 amid improved risk appetite in the market and higher investment demand on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. 

At Bitstamp, bitcoin rose $71, or 0.6% to $11,550 from the opening of $11,479, with an intraday high at $11,618, the best in two weeks, and a low at $11,390. 

Bitcoin closed up 0.2% on Sunday, the fourth daily profit in a row, while rallying 19.5% last week, the second weekly profit in the last three. 

The market value of cryptocurrencies rose to $472 billion on Monday, up $6 billion from Sunday, with bitcoin's market share jumping to 41.3%, the highest since late December. 

Last week's strong gains came after a spate of good news, as the European Union readies to regulate and recognize cryptocurrencies, while a $400 million deal to buy out Poloniex, the world's so-called largest cryptocurrency exchange, riveted the markets back then. 

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission allowed its employees to trade bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, with chairman Hon. J. Christopher Giancarlo admitting that cryptocurrencies can't be ignored anymore, as they offer many challenges and opportunities. 

In Russia, news reports indicate the Russian government is hoping to pass cryptocurrency laws that were discussed last summer, especially two of them proposed by the financial ministry and the central bank. 

Otherwise, Malaysian central bank issued new rules to regulate cryptocurrencies and monitor the information of clients that use their platforms. 

These new regulations force banks and financial institutions to give reports on all clients and people who conduct cryptocurrency transactions, in order to prevent money laundering and terrorism funding operations.