Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader crypto market continue to stay under pressure following the SEC lawsuit on crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase. As of press time, the BTC price is trading at $25,850 with its market cap just holding above $500 billion.
The U.S. regulators, particularly the SEC, have been going hard after crypto firms in recent times. During the last week’s lawsuits, the SEC also named some of the top altcoins as securities. This includes names like ADA, SOL, BNB, MATIC, and several others. Soon after this, we witnessed heavy selling in these altcoins. In a note to CoinDesk, Johnny Teng, Senior Researcher at LBank Labs wrote:
But amid the strong sell-off in the altcoin space, Bitcoin’s performance remains relatively robust. As a result, the Bitcoin market dominance has surged and is moving close to 50%. As per historical trends, the Bitcoin market dominance usually grows when market conditions are uncertain as investors prefer moving their coins to safe-haven assets.
For Bitcoin, the immediate resistance on the upside is at $26,100, above which it can continue to gain some momentum. On the downside, $25,000 remains a crucial support zone.
Over the last few months, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated some high-handed actions putting pressure on the broader cryptocurrency market. Investors are feeling worried because they are not sure how crypto tokens are regulated. In the United States, regulators consider Bitcoin as a commodity, but the SEC Chair, Gary Gensler, believes that most other tokens should be regulated by laws that protect investors.
Mr. Gensler also thinks that all trading platforms in the US should register with the SEC. This uncertainty, along with the recent actions taken by the SEC against Binance and Coinbase, has made investors even more nervous. As a result, Robinhood Markets Inc. decided to remove certain altcoins from its platform last week. This has further added to the investors’ concerns.
Also, data shows that the total number of assets under the SEC’s control has surged over the last week. According to the annual report for 2022, the US SEC’s total assets have gone up from $12.2 billion to $14.1 billion. This represents an increase of $1.9 billion, and a major part of this increase comes from confiscated income, which makes up most of the $1.5 billion increase in accounts receivable.
In the fiscal year 2022, the SEC carried out a total of 760 enforcement actions, which is a 9% increase compared to the previous year. Among these, 462 were new or “independent” enforcement actions. The SEC also ordered payments totaling $6.439 billion, the highest amount in its history. This is a significant increase from the $3.852 billion ordered in 2021.
