Vitaly Sova
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) on Friday was on track for a marginal week gain of about 0.2%with the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization somewhat stable after a sharp drop last week.
With no specific positive news to drive sentiment, the token’s weekly advance Seems to be mostly correcting after more than 9% drop last week.
Another catalyst that could have fueled bitcoin (BTC-USD)’s weekly gains was a new investment strategy by stablecoin issuer Tether, which said it would use up to 15% of its realized net operating profit to buy the cryptocurrency.
Tensions around the banking system, a looming economic recession, increasing BTC network congestion, liquidity concerns stemming from reduced involvement of institutional market makers and regulatory scrutiny were among the reasons for Bitcoin (BTC-USD) losses last week.
“A month ago, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was surging, crossing the $30,000 level for the first time since the summer of 2022. Regional banking concerns and rising bets for a Fed rate cut provided a lot of support for cryptocurrency,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst. At OANDA: “It’s now gone, and so is nearly 30% of this year’s high.”
The total cryptocurrency market cap is currently $1.12 trillion 0.16% increase During Thursday, according to CoinMarketCap.
Regulatory updates
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) has been in the spotlight again this week. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday asked an appeals court to dismiss a petition filed by COIN regarding rulemaking for the cryptocurrency industry because there are no deadlines for the regulator to take action on.
Moreover, according to reports, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler in a keynote address at a conference on Monday responded to the COIN petition by saying that there are 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 actually being applied. The regulatory question remains key for cryptocurrencies and traders will have to be patient,” said OANDA’s Moya.
Elsewhere across the Atlantic, the European Union’s broad set of cryptocurrency rules received final approval from member states on Tuesday. The rules aim to combat money laundering and improve transparency in the crypto sector.
Meanwhile, lawmakers at the UK Treasury Committee have urged that trading in unsupported cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC-USD) and ethereum (ETH-USD) should be regulated as gambling.
Bitcoin and ether prices
- Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose 0.31% To $28.85k at 2245 ET, ether (ETH-USD) rose 0.57% to 1.81 thousand dollars.
- Read why SA contributor Vlad Dešković thinks BTC and ETH clearly have a certain level of fundamental value if they are to be considered currencies.