Cryptocurrencies are extending their post-China-crackdown gains, with Bitcoin spiking back above $4100 this morning. A number of catalysts have been posited, from chatter of Mike Novogratz new fund to talk of Japan's shift to virtual currency before the Olympics in 2020. However, most chatter revolves around Mario Draghi's admission that The ECB is powerless to regulate or prohibit cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin is back at key support/resistance...

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In fact, most of the crypto space is higher this morning...

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As CoinTelegraph reports, Mario Draghi, the erstwhile president of the European Central Bank (ECB) made some startling commentsduring his presentation yesterday at the Hearing of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

When asked about cryptocurrency regulations or bans, similar to the political decisions the Chinese central government has enforced, Draghi made it clear that there is no way to ban Bitcoin, or to even regulate it, saying:

“It would actually not be in our powers to prohibit and regulate them. We have to ask what effects cryptocurrencies have on the economy.”

He added that they are still far too immature to be considered a viable payment methodology - a conclusion that was reached by the ECB in tandem with the Central Bank of Japan last week.

Additionally, banks in Japan are considering creating a digital currency, the J-Coin, intended to eliminate cash as a payment option. CoinTelegraph reports that the news broke through an article indicating that the coin is being planned with the blessing of financial regulators for before the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and is intended to streamline the financial system.

Recently, Japan has once again become the largest Bitcoin exchange market with 50.75 percent market share of the global Bitcoin exchange market.

But Japan is currently functioning as a 70 percent cash economy - a figure that by far exceeds most developed nations where digital transactions have taken the place of cash. These cash transactions create far more cost in the financial world than digital transactions.

The J-Coin is intended to function in tandem with the Yen, rather than replacing it. The coin would be exchanged at a one-to-one ratio. The service for the coin would be offered freely but would be a means of tracking transactions that is far more complex in a cash-based society.

The coin will likely see release in the coming years, though the infrastructure of the system is not yet clear. It may be based on Blockchain technology, but the specifics are as yet unreleased. Recent reports from the Bank of Japan indicate that it does not consider Blockchain technology ‘mature’ enough to handle transactions.

The suggestion of a government cryptocurrency falls in line with the idea that governments around the world are seeking to start their own proprietary cryptocurrencies.