Coinbase halts ether and litecoin trading as cryptocurrency market approaches $500 billion

MI

• Coinbase, the popular cryptocurrency trading platform, blocked users Tuesday from buying red-hot litecoin and ether.
• Investors poured into the two red-hot digital currencies Tuesday morning, pushing them both to new heights.
• Litecoin hit a record of $312 on Tuesday, while ether soared over to more than $600 for the first time.
• The cryptocurrency market is gunning for $500 billion.

Cryptomania has propelled two lesser-known cryptocurrencies to record highs Tuesday, forcing one exchange to halt trading.

CoinDesk

Coinbase on Tuesday halted trading of red-hot litecoin and ether, according to tweets by cryptocurrency watcher CoinDesk. The publication tweeted a photo showing Coinbase "temporarily disabled" trades of the two digital coins on its platform.

Both litecoin and ether hit all-time highs Tuesday morning.

Ether hit $600 a token, while litecoin gained more than 40% to $312.

Across the market for digital coins, new investors are pouring in. The ten largest cryptocurrencies were all trading in the green Tuesday, according to data provider CoinMarketCap.

At the time of print, the entire market stood at nearly half a trillion.

Cryptocurrencies volumes approached record highs above $35 billion.

This story is developing check back for updates.