The incoming United States House Financial Services Committee chair Patrick McHenry wants the Treasury to delay the implementation of a section of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that deals with digital assets and tax collection. McHenry sent a letter on Dec. 14 to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen with questions and concerns about the scope of Section 80603 of the Act. In the letter he requested clarification over the “poorly drafted” and potentially privacy-compromising Section that deals with the taxation of digital assets, scheduled to go into effect in 2023. He said the section requires the government to treat …

The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) recently appointed chair has presented an unfriendly attitude toward cryptocurrencies in a cross-party Treasury select committee meeting. Ashley Alder, who will assume control of the FCA in February 2023, described cryptocurrency-related businesses as ‘deliberately evasive’ and suggested the sector facilitated money laundering during the meeting with Treasury members on Dec. 14. According to a report from Financial Times, the current chief executive of Hong Kong’s Securities & Futures Commission highlighted his belief that the cryptocurrency ecosystem created risk which called for further regulatory purview from government: “Our experience to date of [crypto] platforms, whether FTX …

Crypto-friendly Congressman Tom Emmer is considering re-floating a bipartisan bill that would lift the requirement for certain crypto businesses and projects to register as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) in the wake of the FTX collapse. The bill titled “Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act” was led by Republican Emmer and Democratic Congressman Darren Soto. It was initially tabled at the 117th congress on Aug. 17, 2021, but did not make it any further down the line. Probably a good time to re-up my bipartisan Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act. The bill asserts that blockchain entities that never custody consumer funds are not …

On Dec. 14, Bitcoin (BTC) broke above $18,000 for the first time in 34 days, marking a 16.5% gain from the $15,500 low on Nov. 21. The move followed a 3% gain in the S&P 500 futures in 3 days, which reclaimed the critical 4,000 points support. While BTC price started the day in favor of bulls, investors anxiously awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve Committee's decision on interest rates, along with Fed chair Jerome Powell's remarks. The subsequent 0.50% hike and Powell’s explanation of why the Fed would stay the course of its current policy gave investors good reason to …

Ether (ETH) rallied 6.3% to $1,350 on Dec. 13, mimicking a similar failed attempt that took place on Nov. 10. Despite reaching the highest level in 33 days, the gains were not enough to instill confidence in traders according to two key derivatives metrics. Bulls' frustrations can partially be explained by Binance exchange facing a near-record $1.1 billion in withdrawals over a 24-hour period. The unusual behavior comes as Binance attempts to put out multiple disputes about its proof of reserves and overall solvency on crypto Twitter. According to Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, the social media posts amount to nothing …

In a new Twitter post dated Dec. 12, Du Jun, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global, shared new insight on his experience of running ABCDE Capital, a $400 million Web 3.0 venture capital (VC) fund, in June this year. According to Jun, the idea for ABCDE Capital came in March, and by April, it was already registered in Singapore. However, amidst the $40 billion Terra Luna implosion in May, Jun said that "old money has all but fled" after the incident. We chose to start @ABCDECapital at the most difficult time of the market. Hope to bring a glimmer of …

Pro-crypto United States senator Cynthia Lummis has remained steadfast in her support for Bitcoin (BTC) as part of diversified retirement plans, despite calls from her senator peers otherwise. As it stands, Lummis seems to be just one of the few openly crypto-friendly politicians in the United States and has notably pushed for progressive crypto regulation alongside Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Speaking with online news outlet Semafor on Dec. 12, Lummis outlined that crypto winter has not shaken her resolve in BTC and that she’d still like to see the asset included in United States 401(k) retirement plans: “I'm very comfortable with …

Bitcoin (BTC) failed to break above the $17,250 resistance on Dec. 11 and subsequently faced a 2.2% correction. More importantly, the last daily close above this level was over 30 days ago — reinforcing the thesis of size sellers near the $330 billion market capitalization mark. Curiously, this valuation level is slightly behind Palladium, the world's 23rd most valuable traded asset with a $342 billion capitalization. So from one side, Bitcoin bulls have some reasons to celebrate because the price recovered 10% from the $15,500 low on Nov. 21, but bears still have the upper hand on a larger time …

Bitcoin (BTC) price had a mixed reaction on Dec. 9 after the November report on United States producer prices showed a 7.4% increase versus 2021. The data suggested that wholesale costs continued to rise and inflation may last longer than investors had previously believed. Oil prices are also still a focus for investors, with crude WTI hitting a new yearly low at $71.10 on Dec. 8. The United States Dollar Index (DXY), a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of top foreign currencies, sustained the 104.50 level, but the index traded at 104.10, a 5-month low on Dec. …

Bitcoin (BTC) mining is the backbone of the BTC ecosystem and miners’ returns also provide insight into BTC’s price movements and the health of the wider crypto sector. It is well-documented that Bitcoin miners are struggling in the current bear market. Blockstream, a leading Bitcoin miner recently raised funds at a 70% discount. Current mining activity shares similarities to historic BTC bear markets with a few caveats. Let’s explore what this means for the current Bitcoin cycle. Analysis shows that based on previous cycles the bear market may continue Bitcoin mining profitability can be measured by taking the miner’s revenue …

Crypto price action has been rough over the past few months, but a few green shoots are finally beginning to emerge. While Bitcoin (BTC) remains in a downtrend, its price has recently found support at the $17,000 level, and ping-pong price action in the $16,700–$17,300 range appears to be allowing traders to pursue some interesting setups in a few altcoins. Let’s take a quick peek at some enticing patterns showing up on the weekly time frame. Time for Litecoin’s halving hopium? As a fork of Bitcoin, Litecoin (LTC) tends to turn bullish several months before its reward halving takes place, …

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization dropped 1.5% in the past seven days to rest at $840 billion. The slightly negative movement did not break the ascending channel initiated on Nov. 12, although the overall sentiment remains bearish and year-to-date losses amount to 64%. Bitcoin (BTC) price dropped 0.8% on the week, stabilizing near the $16,800 level at 10:00 UTC on Dec. 8 — even though it eventually broke above $17,200 later on the day. Discussions related to regulating crypto markets pressured markets and the FTX exchange collapse limited traders' appetites, causing lawmakers to turn their attention to the potential impact …