Bitcoin BTC price ticks up as congestion eases and investors ponder the next price

Good morning. Here’s what happens:

Prices: As the blockchain load decreases, Bitcoin’s price will recover. eToro’s Callie Cox said inflation remains a key concern among crypto traders, but noted bitcoin’s resilience in an interview with CoinDesk TV.

Insight: Extraterritoriality is again at the center of a crypto-court case. Will we finally get some answers about how far US authorities can go?

Bitcoin shows green shoots as congestion begins to clear

While bitcoin traded sideways throughout the US business day, as Asia opens, the first signs of a return to price growth have re-emerged amid easing congestion on the bitcoin blockchain.

But the question on many people’s minds was what will cause the next big move in prices?

eToro investment analyst Callie Cox points to inflation as the biggest concern from everyone from the Fed to crypto traders.

In a recent appearance on CoinDesk TV, Cox argued that Americans want inflation to decrease while maintaining job security, and the Fed is trying to balance these, but it’s a process that inevitably involves some pain.

“Powell really leaned into his megaphone and gave very flexible language about the future of politics,” Cox said on CoinDesk TV. “They continue to drop hints and statements, basically changing the language around if future policy action is needed. This could be a hint that the Fed is becoming more flexible.”

Meanwhile, despite Bitcoin’s overload, it remains a defensive asset, as she pointed out that it has surprisingly outperformed the S&P 500 on most CPI and Fed days.

“In the wake of the massive selloff, Bitcoin, while still risky, appears to be benefiting from both its traditional role and its emerging role as a store of value during lower prices,” she said.

Aside from bitcoin, what is Cox currently looking at? Ethereum.

She sees ether as a riskier investment, but recognizes its economic value and the number of projects being developed on the Ethereum blockchain.

“Ethereum is one of those blockchains that is proving its worth at the moment and I think investors are realizing that,” she said.

In a court filing published yesterday, Bankman-Fried moved to dismiss the majority of the charges against him.

Part of his legal team’s move to dismiss the goods fraud charges: extraterritoriality.

Bankman-Fried’s legal team argues in a filing that the costs of commodity fraud would necessitate an extraterritorial application of the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA), which is impermissible because the CEA applies only to domestic conduct.

They further claim that previous case law indicates that the CEA’s focus is not on the geographical location of transactions, but on preventing manipulation and ensuring market integrity.

Keep in mind that FTX did not serve US clients and, as lawyers point out in the filing, was headquartered in Hong Kong before moving to the Bahamas.

What exactly is America’s nexus?

We’ve been down this road before with BitMEX.

BitMEX was charged under US anti-money laundering laws despite not serving US customers or operating bank accounts with US institutions.

“The CFTC’s increasingly expansive view of its jurisdiction is likely to be challenged, particularly against offshore exchanges and participants that have limited ties to the United States,” said Braden Perry, a former attorney for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and now a partner at Kennyhertz Perry. at the time. “This is dangerous territory for the CFTC.”

Unfortunately, for those interested in seeing a case where the CFTC’s view that its mandate was international, a plea agreement taken by Arthur Hayes and Ben Delo prevents a full exploration of these issues in court.

If it had gone to court, the case would have examined new considerations for the Bank Secrecy Act’s application to entities that do not accept fiat currency or have limited ties to the United States, raising questions of jurisdiction and regulatory overreach.

Part of Hayes and Delo’s settlement involved a large fine as well as house arrest for Hayes and probation for Delo.

This option is unlikely for Bankman-Fried. He has been given more incentive to fight his case.

Hopefully this will mean that we have the extraterritorial tendencies of US regulators tested in court and enshrined in case law. If anything, it would give the industry some certainty about where the US can and cannot reach, rather than playing a constant guessing game.

Crypto exchange Bittrex filed for bankruptcy in the US state of Delaware on Monday, months after it announced it would wind down operations in the country and weeks after being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This came as bitcoin (BTC) hovered below $28,000. eToro US investment analyst Callie Cox gave her crypto market analysis. Plus, Phoenix Labs co-founder and CEO Sam MacPherson discussed MakerDAO’s Spark Protocol launch today. Tiago Sada, Tools for Humanity Product Manager, along with Navin Gupta, Managing Director of South Asia & MENA at Ripple, also joined the conversation.