As the crypto market continues to demonstrate resilience and innovation, staying ahead of the curve is paramount for investors, traders, and enthusiasts alike. Failure to regain the losses over the weekend might bring an end to an eight-week winning streak. A broad-based crypto market sell-off on Monday had an impact, with the total market cap falling 5.12% to $1,521 billion.
As of today, the global crypto market cap is $1.66 trillion, a -1.37% change in the last 24 hours and a 97.62% change from a year ago. Bitcoin’s (BTC) market cap is at $825 billion, marking a 49.61% dominance. Meanwhile, Stablecoins have a market cap of $131 billion, accounting for 7.88% of the overall crypto market cap.
Crypto week that was
To begin the week’s top events, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has refused Coinbase’s petition for rulemaking on transactions using cryptos that are classed as securities.
On December 15, SEC chair Gary Gensler announced the commission’s response to Coinbase’s petition, which was filed in July 2022. He contended that existing rules already apply to crypto. Gensler also stated that the SEC is already requesting opinions on crypto-specific rules, rendering Coinbase’s petition redundant and unnecessary.
The Commission disagrees with the Petition’s assertion that application of existing securities statutes and regulations to crypto asset securities, issuers of those securities, and intermediaries in trading, settlement, and custody of those securities is unworkable.
SEC to Coinbase
Meanwhile, the SEC is currently in talks with institutions interested in launching a spot Bitcoin ETF. According to court filings, the SEC met with BlackRock officials on December 14. In addition, the regulator met with Grayscale and Franklin Templeton last week to discuss their respective applications.
FOMC meeting effects on the industry
The US Federal Reserve offered market relief on Wednesday. The Fed kept interest rates at 5.50%, as expected by the market. However, the FOMC predictions increased demand for riskier assets. According to the estimates, the Fed expects a gentle landing and a more dovish-than-expected Fed Funds Rate Trajectory (FFR).
Significantly, the Fed forecasted an FFR of 4.6% in 2024, down from 5.1% in September. Projections for unemployment and real GDP were also crypto-friendly. While the economy is expected to grow more slowly in 2024, the changes were minor.
BTC gained 1.47% in the first hour following the release of the FOMC projections.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren comes after crypto again
Senator Elizabeth Warren’s anti-crypto campaign was a hot topic this week. Senator Warren published a statement on Monday, December 11, announcing increased support for the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Notably, Senator Warren continued to emphasise the usage of cryptocurrency for illegal purposes, saying:
The Treasury Department is making clear that we need new laws to crack down on crypto’s use in enabling terrorist groups, rogue nations, drug lords, ransomware gangs, and fraudsters to launder billions in stolen funds, evade sanctions, fund illegal weapons programs, and profit from devastating cyberattacks.
Senator Warren
According to the announcement, five more senators, including three members of the Banking Committee, have joined in support of the crypto bill. The legislation establishes frameworks for anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) in the digital asset industry.
Bitcoin ETF approval looks promising
This week, progress towards a BTC-spot ETF market was made. However, issuers encountered an SEC barrier in the form of In-Kind Creates. The SEC recently requested that issuers change their BTC-spot ETF applications to Cash Creates.
However, among the issuers attempting to persuade the SEC to accept In-Kind Creates were Blackrock (BLK) and Fidelity.
Invesco filed an amendment this week, moving to Cash Creates, implying that the SEC is firm in its support for Cash Creates.
SafeMoon files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
The coin of the decentralised financial platform SafeMoon (SFM) fell 31% in five hours after the firm declared bankruptcy.
Safemoon filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, often known as “liquidation bankruptcy,” on December 14 with the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah. Attorney Mark Rose filed the voluntary petition, and Chief Judge Joel T. Marker was assigned to the case.
On Reddit, a screenshot of a letter to employees reportedly sent by the firm’s chief restructuring officer leaked, claiming that the firm’s bankruptcy run was the reason it was no longer able to pay employee paychecks ahead to the filing.
The new setback comes only a month after a US securities regulator sued SafeMoon, its founder Kyle Nagy, CEO John Karony, and CTO Thomas Smith with breaking securities laws in what the regulator called a “massive fraudulent scheme” in November.
According to CoinGecko, the crypto declined from $0.000065 on December 14 at 8:24pm UTC to $0.000045 in a five-hour period following the news. However, it quickly recovered to $0.000061 in a 10-minute period.
