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Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is on track to post ~9.7% weekly loss as risk sentiment was dented by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimonies that signaled a potentially longer tightening cycle as well as Silvergate Capital’s (SI) plans to wind down.
In his testimonies at Capitol Hill, Powell said “if the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes”. He also said the Fed has yet to make a decision on the pace of interest-rate hikes at the March 21-22 meeting.
Meanwhile, Silvergate’s (SI) liquidation plans reignited contagion fears in the crypto space, as the bank was among a few that were willing to take on crypto exposure.
“Bitcoin (BTC-USD) initially broke below $22K yesterday and now $20K appears to be crumbling too,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst, OANDA. “This is a big setback driven by another stream of negative headlines that have hit sentiment in the broader markets too. A testing weekend lies ahead.”
The top crypto slid to ~$19.65K on Friday, its lowest level in close to two months. The total crypto market cap currently stands at $940.67B, down 0.1% over Thursday, according to CoinMarketCap.
Regulatory Brief
The DOJ appealed a court order that approved Voyager Digital’s (OTCPK:VYGVQ) more than $1B asset sale to Binance.US. The court also overruled the SEC’s objection to the sale. Fed Vice Chair of Supervision Michael Barr said the central bank is enhancing its supervision of crypto-related activities and is setting up a team of experts to keep track of developments in the sector. Singapore police are investigating Terraform Labs, the company behind collapsed crypto Luna (LUSC-USD) and sister token TerraUSD (UST-USD).
Notable News
Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial disclosed that it held a chunk of its USD Coin’s (USDC-USD) cash reserves at shuttered Silicon Valley Bank. Liquidators for failed exchange FTX (FTT-USD) filed a motion to sell its stake in Sequoia Capital to Al Nawwar Investments, an Abu Dhabi Investment Council unit, for $45M. Crypto brokerage Blockchain.com is halting its asset management service under a year after it was first launched. Crypto exchange Bybit will temporarily halt USD deposits due to service outages from its end-point processing partner.
Bitcoin Price
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) ticked 0.5% higher to $20.23K at 7.25 pm ET and ether (ETH-USD) inched up 0.3% to $1.543K.
SA contributor Mike Fay said bitcoin (BTC-USD) is a hedge against banking custodians and central planning. “One thing bitcoin has yet to see is a rate hike cycle quite like the one we’re currently in. Price is price and that will fluctuate.” Â
