Bitcoin on track for third weekly loss in row

Bitcoin rose on Friday away from two-month lows plumbed yesterday, recouping a small portion of the hefty losses sustained since September 5, and heading for the third weekly loss in a row after IMF warnings. 

At Bitstamp, Bitcoin rose $67, or 1.1% to $6,219, with an intraday high at $6,238, and a low at $6,109. 

Bitcoin lost 5.6% on Thursday, the third loss in a row, and the largest since September 5, marking two-month lows at $6,055. 

Market value of cryptocurrencies rose $2 billion on Friday to a total of $202 billion, after marking $196 billion earlier, the lowest since September 19. 

Bitcoin is down 5.5% so far this week, heading for the third weekly loss in a row under the pressure of new warnings by global financial institutions from the rapid growth in crypto assets. 

The International Monetary Fund warned that the growth in crypto assets could create new weak points in the international financial system. 

In the US, the Securities and Exchange Committee put an October 26 deadline to receive public comment on approving Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. 

The SEC has previously rejected requests for nine such funds from three major investment companies in the US. 

It was expected the SEC would decide on the issue by November, but analysts are all but ruling that out now in favor of a February 2019 date. 

Otherwise, local reports in South Korea indicated the government is likely to announce its official position on Initial Coin Offerings by next November.