This week, the two main themes in crypto news are: asset price declines and the official end of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s enforcement "frenzy".
On the former: Bit rose steadily after the November election, from around $70,000 to a high, but has recently plummeted sharply. In the early hours of February 28, its price had fallen below $80,000. The CoinDesk Market Index (tracking a broader digital asset market) has fallen 12% in the past five days.
CoinDesk market editor Omkar Godbole analyzed the daily price fluctuations, tracking ETF fund outflows, historical analogies, and macroeconomic correlations.
On the regulatory front, the SEC has withdrawn major cases against Uniswap, Coinbase, and MetaMask (ConsenSys). It also seeks to end the fraud case against TRON and Justin Sun. Our regulatory team, Nik De, Jesse Hamilton, and Cheyenne Ligon, as usual, comprehensively reported on this news. Meanwhile, Ligon reported that the SEC appears unlikely to view memecoins as securities.
Stablecoins are another important topic, with issuers debating the parameters of a new law affecting the most commonly used digital asset form. Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire said that USD-backed stablecoin issuers should register in the U.S., which is clearly aimed at Circle's biggest competitor Tether (regulatory reporter Camomile Shumba reported this). Meanwhile, Bank of America said it plans to launch its own stablecoin, wrote Helene Braun.
In other major news, Ian Allison exclusively reported on BitMEX, an established exchange platform that is being sold. Bybit attributed its $150 million hacking incident to external factors (reported by Oliver Knight). Ethereum Foundation Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi said she will resign (reported by Margaux Nijkerk). Additionally, Sam Reynolds explained how mainland Chinese investors can quickly obtain Bit.
All these stories seem likely to continue into next week's coverage, as the crypto industry continues to provide ample writing material. Please stay tuned for our ongoing coverage. Have a great weekend.
