Investing.com– The price of bitcoin fell on Thursday, seeing little relief amid continued pressure from concerns about high interest rates in the United States and increased regulatory scrutiny against some of the crypto industry's biggest players.
The token once again strayed towards the lower end of a trading range seen for most of the past two months. Bitcoin had also fallen as low as $57,000 in late April, entering a bear market from the all-time highs reached in early March.
fell 1.7% in the last 24 hours to $61,563.6 at 01:46 ET (05:46 GMT). The token was also reeling from sustained outflows from crypto investment products, particularly Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Regulatory fears continue to undermine Bitcoin
After trading application, concerns persist over increased US regulatory scrutiny against cryptocurrencies Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ 🙂 said it was facing regulatory action from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over trading in crypto tokens on its platform.
The possible action against Robinhood could add to the current cases the SEC already has against the exchange. Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ 🙂 and the issuer of XRP, both are expected to determine the nature of cryptocurrencies under US law.
The SEC was also reportedly investigating the world's No. 2 token for its nature as a security. The regulator this week postponed a decision on approving Ethereum spot ETFs and appears unlikely to approve them until its investigation concludes.
Crypto markets also reportedly faced pressure from the launch of several major token unlocks, either through staking or locked issuances for early investors.
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Recent reports showed that customers of the now-defunct FTX exchange will receive their deposits back, with interest, although it was unclear whether payments will be in cash or cryptocurrency.
A report published earlier this week alleged that more than 90% of all stablecoin transactions were artificial, raising concerns about increased regulatory scrutiny against the sector, which is a key pillar of the crypto industry.
Cryptocurrency price today: Altcoins hold firm, more rate signals expected
Beyond Bitcoin, other major crypto tokens also saw little relief on Thursday. Ethereum fell 0.3% and lost 1.8%, while it rose 0.2%.
Traders remained largely biased toward the dollar after a series of Federal Reserve officials warned that U.S. interest rates would likely stay high for longer into 2024, a scenario that bodes poorly for crypto markets with A lot of risk.
Attention now turns to upcoming comments from more Fed speakers, as well as key US comments due next week.
