7.36am - UPDATE - Cold snap for bitcoin this morning

Bitcoin's price has fallen to $10,317 at time of press, marking a $500 fall on the day so far.

Ethereum has also fallen to $951 with Ripple down at $1.24.

Express.co.uk will be reporting from Blockchain LIVE today and the first big peice of news to break so far concerns the arrival of the world's the world's largest virtual currency exchange, bitFlyer, to Europe.

Having been granted a Payment Institution (PI) license to operate in Europe, bitFlyer now claims to be the first bitcoin exchange to be regulated in Japan, the US and Europe. 

The arrival of bitFlyer means that European users can now  trade with Japan, the world’s largest market for bitcoin trading.

CEO of bitFlyer and ex-Goldman Sachs trader, Yuzo Kano, said: “When I set up bitFlyer in 2014, I did so with global ambitions and the belief that approved regulatory status is fundamental to the long-term future of Bitcoin and the virtual currency industry. I am proud that we are now the most compliant virtual currency exchange in the world; this coveted regulatory status gives our customers, our company and the virtual currency industry as a whole a very positive future outlook.”

Cedric Jeanson, CEO of BitSpread, said: “We’re pleased to see bitFlyer landing in Europe. As virtual currency trading becomes mainstream and institutional investors get involved, there is a gap in Europe for a platform which specifically caters to the professional market.”