Bitcoin climbed Tuesday afternoon, recovering from an earlier drop to its lowest in more than two months.
The gains followed the testimony of two financial regulatory commission chairmen before the Senate Banking Committee that showed how the U.S. government is trying to coordinate its efforts to regulate bitcoin. But the chairmen's comments balanced the need to protect consumers without a heavy-handed crackdown on technological innovation.
Bitcoin's afternoon climb also came as U.S. stocks bounced back from their worst day in years.
Bitcoin one-week performance
Source: CoinDesk
The cryptocurrency climbed 12 percent to $7,763 and was trading near $7,600 as of 3:52 p.m., ET, according to CoinDesk's bitcoin price index, which tracks prices from major cryptocurrency exchanges.
Earlier, bitcoin extended a recent slide, falling below $6,000 to its lowest since Nov. 13. Even with the afternoon recovery, the cryptocurrency remains 25 percent lower for February.
Other major cryptocurrencies also turned higher in afternoon trading. Ethereum traded 10.9 percent higher near $774, according to CoinMarketCap, while ripple traded about 8.7 percent higher near 75.2 cents.
Among the largest cryptocurrencies, neo was one of the top gainers, climbing more than 22 percent to $101, according to CoinMarketCap.