Bitcoin Surpasses $26,000 as U.S. Regulatory Battle Persists; Other Top 10 Cryptocurrencies Also Gain
Bitcoin has rebounded above $26,000, recovering some of the losses it incurred in the past week following lawsuits filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against two major cryptocurrency exchanges. The SEC accuses Binance.US and Coinbase of violating securities regulations. In addition, all other non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies in the top 10 have experienced gains, with Binance's native token BNB leading the surge.
Cryptocurrency Market Performance
Within a 24-hour period until 4 p.m. in Hong Kong, Bitcoin rose by 1% to reach $26,074. According to CoinMarketCap data, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has recorded a 1.32% increase over the week.
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, saw a 0.64% increase in the past 24 hours, reaching $1,748. However, it has faced a 3.60% decline over the past seven days.
BNB, the native token of the largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, rose by 5.10% to reach $235. Despite this gain, it still posted weekly losses of 15.11%. These gains followed the announcement by U.S. Republican Congressman Warren Davidson, who tweeted that he had introduced a bill to restructure the SEC and remove its current chairman, Gary Gensler.
Davidson stated, "U.S. capital markets must be protected from a tyrannical Chairman, including the current one. That's why I am introducing legislation to fix the ongoing abuse of power and ensure protection that is in the best interest of the market for years to come."
Gary Gensler, the SEC chairman, reiterated the agency's commitment to strictly regulate the cryptocurrency sector, reposting his statement from last week on Twitter.
Asian and European Equities Show Gains; U.S. Futures Rise
Asian equity markets experienced gains on Tuesday after the People's Bank of China reduced its seven-day reverse repurchase rate from 2% to 1.9%. This move comes as China, the world's second-largest economy, continues to grapple with the effects of the pandemic. U.S. markets also showed positive performance, fueled by expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will maintain unchanged interest rates during its upcoming meeting.
The Shanghai Composite index increased by 0.15%, while the Shenzhen Component Index rose by 0.76%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed by 0.60%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 strengthened by 1.80%.
Nigel Green, founder and CEO of financial management firm deVere, stated, "Global stock markets are likely to experience a boost this week, not limited to mega-cap tech stocks, as the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to pause interest rate hikes."
During trading hours in Europe, major stock exchanges demonstrated a flat performance as investors awaited policy decisions from both the European Central Bank (ECB) and the U.S. Federal Reserve. The ECB is scheduled to meet on Thursday and is anticipated to implement a 25 basis point interest rate hike to 3.5% in an effort to combat inflationary pressures.
The STOXX 600, a benchmark for European stocks, rose by 0.03%, while Germany's DAX 40 gained 0.09%.
It has been reported that the eurozone slipped into a recession during the first quarter of 2023.
Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at trading platform Capital.com, highlighted the challenges posed by high inflation, rising interest rates, and volatility in the past year. She advised diversifying investments across different assets, companies, and investment opportunities
As a strategy to mitigate risk and navigate the current market conditions.