Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin moves lower on Friday, price pressured below $56,000
- New SEC Chair Gensler says Bitcoin investors lack protections
Bitcoin Poised to End the Week Negative
Bitcoin is on its way to finish the week in negative territory after it failed to break over the $58,000 milestone. While the digital currency tried to stage a comeback yesterday and on Wednesday, the buying momentum fizzled out. Accordingly, the price dipped into the red for the week.
The price of Bitcoin started trading on Monday right below $57,000 per coin. Currently, Bitcoin hovers around $55,800, or 2.2% lower than the opening levels. If buyers are unable to support the price and lift it above the $57,000 mark, Bitcoin will register its third week in the red out of the last four weeks.
Bitcoin this week pushed to a high of $59,000 but market participants could not sustain the upside swing. Soon after, the asset’s price dipped under the tough-to-break resistance of $58,000. For much of the week, Bitcoin traded below $56,000. Finally on Wednesday, the asset slipped to a weekly low of $52,900.
SEC Chair says BTC Investors Lack Protections
On Thursday, in the afternoon, Bitcoin’s price was rattled by comments of the new Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler on the cryptocurrency industry. The SEC chief, during his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, said the cryptocurrency market, now worth more than $2tn, needs more regulation if mainstream adoption is ever to arrive.
Mr. Gensler would bear the prime responsibility for regulating the digital asset market as his agency, the SEC, is a top regulator and has the authority to introduce a cryptocurrency regulatory framework. The SEC has defined Bitcoin as a commodity under US law, and to a certain extent, this definition exempts Bitcoin from some of the toughest rules and regulations.
“There’s a lot of authority that the SEC currently has in the securities space and there are a number of cryptocurrencies that fall within that jurisdiction,” Mr. Gensler said during his hearing. “But there are some areas, particularly Bitcoin trading on large exchanges, that the public is not currently really protected.”
“Right now, there’s not a market regulator around these crypto exchanges, and thus, there’s really no protection around fraud or manipulation,” he also added. The crypto community has positive expectations for Gary Gensler’s approach toward digital currencies. Mr. Gensler’s resume includes extensive cryptocurrency expertise as he has led MIT courses on blockchain and Bitcoin.
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