Crypto markets experienced an upward trend on Wednesday despite recent regulatory issues faced by Binance and Coinbase, two of the leading crypto exchanges. Major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and DOGE saw a 5% increase within the last 24 hours, while Litecoin, XRP, and Shiba Inu also experienced jumps of up to 4%. This surge contributed to the total crypto market capitalization growing by 3.3% to $1.12 trillion.
The rise in value provided some relief to traders who suffered from the largest liquidation in history, with over $293 million worth of token-tracked futures products liquidated on Monday. Large liquidations typically signal significant price shifts, allowing traders to reposition themselves.
The current upwards movement in the market can likely be attributed to traders brushing off the long-term impacts of regulatory issues faced by influential exchanges in the U.S. This includes some tokens being categorized as securities, which are negotiable financial instruments representing financial value, such as stocks, bonds, or options.
In recent separate filings, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Binance and Coinbase of selling unlicensed securities in the United States. These charges have come amidst a lack of regulatory certainty from the SEC on whether crypto tokens can be classified as securities. Although the SEC has not provided official legal definitions for token issuers and is yet to respond to a petition from Coinbase requesting clear rulemaking definitions, certain tokens like BNB, SOL, ADA, and MATIC experienced losses that have since reversed, though they are now trading at a 3% decrease compared to Tuesday.
Some experts believe that major cryptocurrencies classified as securities in the SEC filings could experience turbulence in the near future. With Bitcoin and Ether left out of the filings, traders are shifting their focus towards these top cryptocurrencies. This distinction could lead to further divides in the crypto market, with Bitcoin and Ether remaining stable while other altcoins face uncertainty.
In fact, some argue that these filings strengthen Bitcoin’s value proposition as the largest cryptocurrency, given that it was not explicitly labeled as a security by the SEC. This aligns with the SEC’s previous statements that Bitcoin is not a security and is not within the agency’s jurisdiction. As a result, investors may continue to gravitate towards Bitcoin as a secure, fundamentally sound store of value. However, only time will tell how these recent developments truly impact the crypto market’s trajectory.
Source: Coindesk
