Bitcoin and ether prices were largely mixed but were in the red on Friday morning in Asia, with both looking to end the week in the loser’s column after a period of directionless trading. Higher-than-expected US GDP figures came in overnight after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates on Wednesday, fueling concerns about rates staying high for too long. Risk-off mood is fueled by speculation that Japan could change its interest rate policy on Friday. Most of the other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies traded mixed. Binance’s BNB led the winners after the world’s largest crypto exchange said it would fully restore operations in Japan in August. The FORcast 500 NFT index declined after Wall Street closed lower on Thursday and US equity futures were trading flat.
lose steam
According to data from CoinMarketCap, bitcoin in Hong Kong fell 0.41% over the past 24 hours to $29,211, bringing its losses to 1.97% over the past seven days. The world’s largest cryptocurrency turned lower on Thursday evening and managed to stay above the $29,000 support level, but only just barely.
When Japan’s Nikkei business news site reported on Thursday that the country’s central bank – one of the last major central banks to maintain loose monetary policy – discussed revisions to its yield curve control policy, higher interest for riskier assets such as cryptocurrencies Worries about rates escalated. Which will open the door to higher rates and increase the cost of money.
The Bank of Japan changing its extremely loose monetary policies could be an issue for the crypto market, which is running out of price catalysts, Markus Thielen, head of crypto research and strategy at digital asset service platform Matrixport, said in an emailed comment.
A recent bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) filing in the US could give the crypto a bigger boost, but “prices have been range-bound”, Matrixport reported on Thursday.
“The Net Asset Value of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) has reduced its discount from -45% to just -27% this year, but as soon as the discount starts to increase again (from -25%), we will See this as a sign that the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF news is losing momentum. This could result in a drop in bitcoin price,” the report said.
“Predictably, the crypto market has been very quiet during these summer weeks. This has resulted in a significant drop in trading volume and volatility. Investors may be well advised to replace their bitcoin spots with bitcoin options, especially those with upside calls, as the low volatility has made the option prices cheaper.
Along with bitcoin, Ether declined 0.51% to $1,860, down 1.68% over the seven-day period.
Other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies traded mixed, with Polygon’s MATIC leading among the losers, and Binance’s BNB among the gainers.
BNB on Binance rose 0.75% to $240.46, but was still trading 0.98% lower for the week.
Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, announced The crypto exchange will restore full operations in Japan in August based on “the country’s clear vision towards the industry,” it said at the WebEx conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
“Japan is a major leader in this (Web3) field and I think it is an example for the rest of the world to follow. And to that end, Binance is extremely pleased to be participating in the Japanese market again,” Zhao said in his address.
On the regulatory front in the US, the US House Financial Services Committee passed a bill on Wednesday that aims to define whether cryptocurrencies are securities or commodities.
The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act bill seeks to increase the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s oversight over the crypto industry and clarify the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The Agriculture Committee of the House of Representatives also voted Thursday to approve the bill, which now moves to the floor of the House.
“The US regulatory permafrost is melting. For the first time, Congress took significant steps to establish a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for digital assets in the US,” Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation – a global coalition of crypto industry leaders, said in an emailed comment.
“Policymakers recognize that legal uncertainty not only hinders responsible innovation, it threatens to create an environment that will drive American investors abroad,” Warren said.
The total crypto market capitalization fell by 0.47% to US$1.18 trillion in the last 24 hours, while the trading volume fell by 16.53% to US$26.07 billion.
Source: forkast.news
