Bitcoin begins month off 1.4% at $47,200

Bitcoin was trading 1.4% lower on Wednesday morning.

The price was around $47,200 per coin, while rivals Ethereum and Dogecoin were trading around $3,520 and 27 cents per coin, respectively, according to Coindesk.

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The chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission is warning that cryptocurrency trading platforms need to work within the nation’s regulatory framework.

Gary Gensler told the Financial Times that cryptocurrencies are putting their survival at risk without working within that framework.

“History just tells you, it doesn’t last long outside. Finance is about trust, ultimately,” he said.

Gensler also expressed disappointment with the industry’s response to his suggestion that trading platforms register with the SEC.

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It is unclear which US financial regulator is supposed to oversee them. Gensler has called on Congress to make such authority more explicit. 

Gensler’s crypto comments carry additional weight because he taught a course on the subject at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

On Wednesday, he is set to testify on crypto and other matters before the European Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee.

EL SALVADOR WILL BE FIRST COUNTRY TO ADOPT BITCOIN AS LEGAL TENDER

In other cryptocurrency news, El Salvador has taken another step toward the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender.

The country’s Congress on Tuesday approved a law to create a $150 million fund to facilitate conversions from bitcoin to U.S. dollars, according to Reuters.

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The adoption of bitcoin takes place next week.

The Central American country will be the first in the world to use the cryptocurrency as legal tender.