The Consensus 2023 festival wrapped up in Austin last week setting new attendance records and attracting investors, builders, and crypto enthusiasts. Despite the industry optimism, U.S. regulatory missteps continue to impede progress, as noted by CoinDesk journalists attending the event. While Bitcoin trades are flat, confidence in the crypto space is high. However, attempts to breach the $30,000 resistance level this week have failed, raising concerns among the bulls.
Fed’s impending rate hike announcement could result in price swings, considering that prediction market Polymarket and CME’s FedWatch tool put the likelihood of a 25bps rate hike at 97% and 82% respectively. This may lead to Bitcoin testing the $25,000-price range in the coming days.
Crypto majors, such as Layer-1s Solana and Avalanche, have remained relatively flat, with the latter’s AVAX token falling 1.2%.
In a discussion panel at Consensus 2023, Kate Brady, Head of Communications for Web3 at PepsiCo, shared that the lack of regulatory clarity is hampering the growth of mainstream brands such as PepsiCo in the Web3 space. This revelation highlights the sentiment shared by many in the crypto industry, expressing the need for clear guidelines from lawmakers and policymakers.
At the event, optimism dominated the traditional finance industry, which has shown interest in integrating with the crypto and crypto-adjacent infrastructure. However, this enthusiasm was tempered with realism in light of the relatively slow progress being made.
The current landscape of the crypto industry, characterized by its optimism and the prospect of further growth, is met with cautious skepticism given the unresolved regulatory issues. While the indication of mainstream adoption is promising, the realization of its potential for growth depends on overcoming these obstacles. The battle for the future of blockchain continues to be defined by the balance between the crypto fiesta and the regulatory siesta, leaving industry players to carefully navigate these challenges.
Source: Coindesk
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/04/30/first-mover-asia-bitcoin-ether-open-asias-trading-week-flat/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=headlines
