Vitalij Sova
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) on Friday was on track for a marginal week gains of around 0.2%with the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization leveling off somewhat after a sharp drop last week.
With no specific positive news to boost sentiment, the token’s weekly advance seemed to be mostly a correction after its more than 9% decline last week.
Another catalyst that could have supported bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) weekly gain was a new investment strategy from the issuer of stablecoin Tether, which said it would use up to 15% of its net realized trading earnings to buy the cryptocurrency.
Nervousness in the banking system, an impending economic downturn, increased BTC network congestion, liquidity concerns stemming from lower institutional market maker participation, and regulatory scrutiny were some of the reasons that led to bitcoin losses. (BTC-USD) last week.
“A month ago, bitcoin (BTC-USD) was on the rise, breaching the $30K level for the first time since summer 2022. Regional banking concerns and growing Fed rate cut bets provided cryptocurrency a lot of support. The bullish catalysts have now faded and so has about 30% of this year’s rally,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
Total crypto market capitalization currently stands at $1.12T, a 0.16% increase during Thursday, according to CoinMarketCap.
Regulatory updates
The Coinbase Global (COIN) cryptocurrency exchange was back in the spotlight this week. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday asked an appeals court to reject a petition filed by COIN regarding rulemaking for the cryptocurrency industry, as there are no deadlines requiring the regulator to take action. about.
In addition, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, in a keynote address at a conference on Monday, reportedly responded to COIN’s petition by arguing that there were already rules in place for cryptocurrency markets.
“Bitcoin didn’t get any favors from SEC Gensler earlier in the week, just the standard comments about how the rules are already in place. The regulatory issue remains the key to the cryptoverse and traders will need to be patient,” said OANDA’s Moya.
Elsewhere across the Atlantic, the European Union’s sweeping set of cryptocurrency rules received final approval from member states on Tuesday. The rules are intended to combat money laundering and improve transparency in the cryptocurrency sector.
Meanwhile, lawmakers on the UK Treasury Committee have urged that trading in unbacked cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC-USD) and ethereum (ETH-USD) be regulated as gambling.
Bitcoin, ether prices
- Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose 0.31% to $28.85K at 2245 ET and ether (ETH-USD) rose 0.57% at $1.81K.
- Read why SA contributor Vlad Deshkovich thinks it’s self-evident that BTC and ETH have some level of fundamental value when considered as currencies.