Vitalij Sova
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was on track for a modest weekly gain of around 0.2% on Friday, with the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization somewhat stabilizing after last week’s massive decline.
The weekly gain for the coin mostly appeared as a correction after a drop of more than 9% last week, with no specific positive news to drive sentiment.
Another catalyst that could support weekly gains for bitcoin (BTC-USD) was a new investment strategy by stablecoin issuer Tether, which said it would devote up to 15% of its net realized operating profit to buying the cryptocurrency. Will use
Some of the reasons for bitcoin (BTC-USD) losses last week were jitters around the banking system, a looming economic downturn, high BTC network congestion, low participation from institutional market makers, and liquidity concerns stemming from regulatory scrutiny.
“A month ago, bitcoin (BTC-USD) was surging, surpassing the $30K level for the first time since the summer of 2022. Regional banking concerns and Fed rate cut bets provided much support for the crypto. The bullish catalysts have now faded and so have accounts for about 30% of this year’s rally, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
The total crypto market cap currently stands at $1.12T, an increase of 0.16% from Thursday, according to coinmarket cap,
regulatory update
Crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) was in the headlines again this week. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday requested an appeals court to dismiss a petition filed by COIN regarding setting rules for the cryptocurrency industry because there is no deadline for the regulator to act on it.
Furthermore, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler reportedly hit back at COIN’s petition in a keynote address at a conference on Monday, arguing that there were already existing regulations for cryptocurrency markets.
OANDA’s Moya said, “Bitcoin got no favors from SEC Gensler in the first week, just standard commentary on how the regulations are already in place. The regulatory question is important to the cryptoverse and traders will have to be patient.”
Elsewhere across the Atlantic, the European Union’s comprehensive set of cryptocurrency regulations received final approval from member states on Tuesday. The rules are meant to fight money laundering and improve transparency in the crypto sector.
Meanwhile, MPs on the UK Treasury Committee have urged that trading in non-backed cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and Ethereum (ETH-USD) should be regulated as gambling.
bitcoin ether prices
- Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was up 0.31% to $28.85K at 2245 ET, and Ether (ETH-USD) was up 0.57% to $1.81K.
- Read why SA contributor Vlad Denkovich thinks it’s clear that BTC and ETH have some level of fundamental value if they are to be treated as currencies.
source: seekingalpha.com