Bitcoin was trading for over 1.12% higher this morning in about $42,300.
Rivals Ethereum and Dogecoin were trading around $2,913 0.27% and 20 cents 0.19% per coin, respectively, according to CoinDesk.
On Wednesday, South Korea pulled virtual asset services providers from selling tokens issued by them and their staff, said the country's Financial Services Commission in a statement.
CoinDesk services providers have been given a month to set up internal processes for conflict of interest rules, CoinDesk reported. Failure to comply will lead to suspended business operations and up to 100 billion $85,000 penalties for failure to comply.
The conflict of interest rule was instituted at a cabinet meeting Monday and was passed to prevent damage to users as well as expand transparency in the industry, says the FSC.
In other cryptocurrency news, months before the latest crackdown, the Huobi Global cryptocurrency exchange moved substantial operations units out of the country, primarily to crypto-friendly Singapore, former and current employees told CoinDesk.
Huobi had been trying to develop overseas operations since China s earlier clampdown on crypto exchanges in September 2017. The following month the company set up a separate legal entity in Singapore.
Since then, great parts of operations such as business development and marketing began to be exported, while the less-controversial technical teams kept in China, the current and former employees said.
Last Friday, the People's Bank of China PBoC announced new crypto restrictions on the economy, CoinDesk reported.