Bitcoin Bolstered by Pro-Crypto Contender to Lead US Agency CFTC

Bitcoin traded around the $100,000 level, supported by further signs that proponents of the cryptocurrency sector will help to shape US financial regulations under President-elect Donald Trump.

In the latest development, Brian Quintenz emerged as a top contender to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Quintenz is head of policy at a16z Crypto, the digital-asset arm of venture capital heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz, and a former Republican CFTC commissioner.

Bitcoin changed hands at $101,000 as of 10:49 a.m. on Thursday in Singapore, holding most of a nearly 5% gain from a day earlier that ranked as the biggest ...