Bitcoin (BTC) dropped below $51,000 at the time of writing and NVIDIA‘s earnings did not generate the expected excitement. The price, having tested the $53,000 resistance, was anticipated to undergo a correction. At this point, the critical question is whether the price will dip below $50,500 and if the weekend’s low volumes might lead to an increase in negative volatility.
Crypto Market Daily Summary
The cumulative trading volume in the crypto market has fallen to $66.59 billion today, marking a 16% decrease from the previous day. The waning interest in the markets is also prompting investors in altcoins to convert to cash. The cumulative value of cryptocurrencies stands at $1.95 trillion, with support at $1.91 trillion. But what significant developments have occurred in the crypto space in the last 24 hours?
Trump and Bitcoin
Former US President Trump has recently adopted a more favorable stance towards cryptocurrencies, particularly with his involvement in NFTs. Donald Trump has made it clear with his latest statement that he has changed his approach to Bitcoin (BTC). The former President, who was consistently critical of cryptocurrencies during his tenure, now seems convinced that Bitcoin is not a fraud.
In an interview with Fox, Trump stated that he would not be bothered by the survival of Bitcoin and could live with people wanting to make payments using it.
Kraken’s Appeal Against the SEC
The cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has filed an appeal to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the SEC last November. The exchange describes this move as an “excessive and dangerous” overreach of the SEC’s authority. In a filing to the federal court in San Francisco on February 22, Kraken wrote:
“The SEC’s theory suggests that something can be an investment contract without a contract, post-sale obligations, or any interaction between the issuer and the buyer. If the SEC continues to overstep its authority in this way, a wide variety of ordinary assets or commodities, including sports memorabilia, trading cards, expensive watches, and even diamonds, could be transformed into securities.”
This move is as significant as the lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance. The outcome of these cases could influence the standard by which altcoins are classified as securities. Indeed, I had written about the “altcoins potentially escaping the SEC’s stretched Howey test theory” when sharing the latest developments related to the hearings. Kraken’s appeal could help us find the answer to the same question.
Pixels and the European Central Bank
One of the last two major developments in the past 24 hours is related to the growth of the Web3 game Pixels. Following its Binance listing, the PIXEL token surged 12 times higher than its listing price on February 19. Moreover, the game is already among the most popular Web3 games with over 538,000 wallets interacting with it.
The other event concerns comments made by two European Central Bank officials regarding a spot Bitcoin ETF. There are two aspects here:
- A few days ago, I wrote about the VanEck Europe CEO’s statement that there is no future for spot Bitcoin ETFs in the region. In my view, this was a clear summary of the approach to ETFs in the region from one of the most authoritative voices (from the perspective of an ETH issuer).
- The second important aspect is the “excessively negative personal” views of the European Central Bank officials who made these negative comments, which were also reflected in a trending blog post. Indeed, we have seen similar strict statements from them before.
While ECB officials agree on the potential impact of ETF approvals on Bitcoin prices, they view it as a flash in the pan.
