Bitcoin faced a setback in Asian trading on Wednesday as it continued to hover below the crucial resistance level of $26,000. Ether also experienced a dip, while other top 10 cryptocurrencies showed a mixed performance. Binance’s BNB token saw significant gains following a court ruling against the financial regulator’s asset freeze request.
Bitcoin’s Struggle to Surpass $26,000 :
Bitcoin witnessed a decline of 0.38% in the last 24 hours, settling at $25,835.15 by 7:00 a.m. in Hong Kong. The cryptocurrency has been unable to break through the $26,000 resistance level due to the prevailing fear in the market, despite optimism in equities. Alex Kuptsikevich, the senior market analyst at FxPro, highlighted the Fear & Greed Index’s current position in the fear territory. Kuptsikevich further suggested that Bitcoin needs to surpass $27,000 to reverse its downtrend.
Mixed Performance of Top 10 Cryptocurrencies :
Apart from Bitcoin and Ether, other leading cryptocurrencies in the top 10 demonstrated a varied performance. Binance’s BNB token emerged as the top gainer, rising by 4.67% to $241.36, thereby reducing its weekly loss to 14.41%. The surge in BNB’s value followed a U.S. court’s rejection of the financial regulator’s attempt to freeze Binance.US assets. This ruling enables Binance.US to continue its operations while negotiating with the SEC.
Regulatory Uncertainty Fuels Cryptocurrency Exodus \:
Recent regulatory actions and uncertainties surrounding Binance and Coinbase have led to declining Bitcoin reserves on U.S. crypto exchanges. According to CryptoQuant, these reserves have dropped below the levels seen in 2017 as investors seek refuge on overseas exchanges. The SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs Inc., involving its XRP token, also influenced market sentiment. The revelation of the “Hinman documents,” which indicated inconsistent SEC positions on categorizing cryptocurrencies, added further weight to Ripple’s legal defence.
NFT Market Faces Downward Pressure :
In the non-fungible token (NFT) market, the Forkast 500 NFT index recorded a decline of 1.76% over 24 hours, reaching 2,919.17 at 7:30 a.m. in Hong Kong. The index’s weekly performance also suffered, decreasing by 10.92%. Yehudah Petscher, NFT Strategist at Forkast Labs, acknowledged the downward trend, expressing uncertainty regarding a potential recovery. Petscher emphasized that new projects tend to attract most investor funds during such periods.
As cryptocurrencies grapple with regulatory challenges and market fluctuations, Bitcoin faces resistance at $26,000. The fate of Binance and Coinbase, key players in the crypto landscape, hangs in the balance amidst legal battles with the SEC. The NFT market also experienced downward pressure, signalling ongoing market uncertainty.
