Cryptocurrency prices rose on Tuesday as Ethereum prepares for a hard fork to address mining profitability concerns.

The second largest cryptocurrency by capitalization, Ethereum, rose by 3.42% to $557.23 by 15:53 Moscow time on the Bitfinex exchange.

The hard fork is intended to solve the so-called “difficulty bomb” – an increase in the complexity of its mining built into the Ethereum software algorithm. The change means that all users of the original blockchain will have to update their software. This will disable the function designed to complicate mining.

This function was included in the original code as a way to transition from the Proof of Work concept (a way to protect the cryptocurrency blockchain from various types of attacks, including spam) to the Proof of Stake concept, according to which the creator of the next block is selected randomly. At the moment, Ethereum developers have decided to maintain the Proof of Work concept. Another virtual currency will be created at the same time, despite regulatory concerns.

Bitcoin rose 1.61% to $7467.00 on the Bitfinex exchange, slightly retreating from the previously recorded low of $7467.00.

Over the week, the cryptocurrency fell in price by about 10%. Bitcoin fell to a six-and-a-half-week low after reports that the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into suspected traders’ manipulation of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency prices.

With the tightening of rules for regulating the sale and purchase of cryptocurrencies, they began to become cheaper. At the time of writing, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization is $323 billion, up from $311 billion on Monday.

The third largest digital currency by capitalization, Ripple, rose in price by 1.38% and was trading at $0.059343. At the time of writing, the Litecoin rate was up 4.66% to $120.89.

Founder of antivirus software company McAfee and cryptocurrency supporter John McAfee announced the launch of a new fiat currency backed by cryptocurrency.