Bitcoin zooms as top investors take interest: Check the big names

Bitcoin headed for its biggest increase in two weeks on Monday amid a steady drip of news reports suggesting some of the biggest names in investing are starting to embrace digital currencies.

Bitcoin headed for its biggest increase in two weeks on Monday amid a steady drip of news reports suggesting some of the biggest names in investing are starting to embrace digital currencies. The largest crypto-coin advanced 3 percent to $6,371 as of 9:48 a.m. in London, according to composite prices on Bloomberg. Rival coins Ripple, Ethereum and Litecoin all climbed at least 2 percent. Bitcoin hasn’t notched a one-day gain of at least 2 percent since July 2.

BlackRock Inc. has formed a team to look into ways the world’s largest asset manager can take advantage of the cryptocurrency market and blockchain, London’s Financial News reported. The company said afterward in a statement that its focus was largely on blockchain, the technology underlying Bitcoin.
Last week, billionaire investor Steven Cohen was said to have put money into a hedge fund focusing on cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based companies. In Europe, the owner of Switzerland’s securities exchange in Zurich said it’s creating a platform for trading digital assets.