The crypto market has been experiencing an “Alameda gap” due to a lack of liquidity despite the recent surge in bitcoin and ether prices, as well as a number of regulatory developments.[0] Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined Kraken exchange $30 million for its staking program, and the New York State Department of Financial Services ordered stablecoin issuer Paxos to stop minting the BUSD stablecoin.[1]
The SEC’s crackdown on Kraken’s staking program is not an attack on staking as a whole.[2] In response to the news, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said on Twitter that automated staking protocols offered on the Cardano blockchain will not be affected.[1] According to an analysis conducted by Binance Research, a significant portion of ether holders who had their ETH staked in Ethereum’s Beacon Chain since 2018 are now profiting, whereas the rest are not in the green.[0]
The CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX) fell to $21,750 and ether is down 1.8% to $1,514 as Asia started the working week.[3] Although Bitcoin could potentially dip to $20,000 or lower, there are still reasons to be optimistic about the most prominent cryptocurrency.[2] Liquid staking tokens such as Lido’s LDO surged in value after the SEC’s announcement as users looked for alternative staking services.[3]
Looking ahead, investors should pay attention to upcoming economic data from Japan and the United Kingdom, including Japan Gross Domestic Product (QoQ) on 10:50 p.m. HKT/SGT(14:50 UTC), and United Kingdom Claimant Count Change (Jan) and United Kingdom ILO Unemployment Rate (Dec) on 6:00 a.m.[3] HKT/SGT(22:00 UTC).[2]
0. “Crypto Price Today: Bitcoin below $24,000; Shiba Inu, Avalanche, Solana drop 5% each” Business Today, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.businesstoday.in/crypto/story/crypto-price-today-bitcoin-below-24000-shiba-inu-avalanche-solana-drop-5-each-370563-2023-02-17
1. “Markets: Bitcoin slips back below US$24,000; equities slide” Forkast News, 17 Feb. 2023, https://forkast.news/headlines/bitcoin-below-us24000-inflation-equities/
2. “First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Might Test $20K as It Looks for Support” msnNOW, 13 Feb. 2023, https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/first-mover-asia-bitcoin-might-test-dollar20k-as-it-looks-for-support/ar-AA17pk0a
3. “First Mover Asia: Bitcoin might test $20k as it looks for support” FXStreet, 13 Feb. 2023, https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/first-mover-asia-bitcoin-might-test-20k-as-it-looks-for-support-202302130119