The future of Bitcoin and other significant tokens could be defined by a simple word called ‘regulation’. Investors and traders watched in silent horror as major cryptos erased all weekly gains on the back of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission delaying crucial ETF decisions, due last Friday. Bitcoin retracted its triumphant stride, sliding under $26,000, while dogecoin (DOGE) and solana (SOL) dipped by approximately 5.5%. Yet, it was ether (ETH) and bitcoin cash (BCH) which experience the deeper plunge, losing 3.7% and a staggering 7.7%, respectively.
The universal wrench in the crypto market was thrown late on Thursday. The SEC declared its decision to procrastinate making decisions about the spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications, until October. These have been filed by esteemed applicants, such as BlackRock, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Wise Origin, VanEck, Bitwise, and Valkyrie Digital Assets.
Adding more fuel to the fire, there have been reports earlier this week about an U.S. federal court ordering the SEC to reconsider a previously rejected application attempting to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an exchange-traded fund.
This adverse circumstance opens the door to the potential for a spot bitcoin ETF in the U.S, a reality on which the SEC has consistently disapproved thus far. However, as everyone knows, in the volatile world of cryptocurrencies, precedents are not always indicative of the future, and the conversion of GBTC could act as the very first beacon of light.
So, what are we left with in this sea of uncertainty? Only tron (TRX) and toncoin (TON) managed to stay adrift, managing to rise over 1% each, albeit without clear triggers, they could be seen as lonely survivors in the current catastrophe.
These folds of events call into question the promise of a long-term recovery. They have blurred both the impressions of investors as well as the words of crypto savants. Is the regulation baton an elixir promising potent growth in the future? Or will it continue to throttle the flurry of investments circling around cryptocurrencies?
No one can definitively answer these questions now. But one thing’s certain: The era of crypto regulations is still in the budding phase, and its multidimensional impacts are challenging to predict. Either way, it remains an intriguing paradox: the liberation represented by digital currencies clashing with the regulatory fetters. Only time will unravel this mystery.
Source: Coindesk
