Bitcoin falls as US plans to sell over 41,000 BTC
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has fallen below $28,000 (£22,730) as regulatory action against the crypto industry intensifies and the US government announces a plan to sell 41,490 BTC in 2023.
The global cryptocurrency market cap was $1.21 billion on Monday, down 2.1%, according to Coingecko.
Bitcoin fell 2.2% to $27,887.
The recent price action has put bitcoin’s market cap at $538 billion. But bitcoin’s price has risen by 67.76% so far this year.
Ethereum (ETH-USD) fell 1.27% to $1,790.
Read more: Crypto live prices
The Ethereum Foundation said last week that the blockchain’s Shanghai hard fork, with an upgrade that will allow investors to withdraw their ETH for the first time, is set for April 12.
The US sells over 41,000 bitcoins
Last month, the US government sold $216 million worth of bitcoin it had seized during a November 2021 search related to cryptocurrency stolen from the Silk Road dark web market.
The bitcoin sold was part of a 50,000 BTC haul seized following the arrest of James Zhong, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud after the government alleged he manipulated the Silk Road transaction system in 2012.
The US government plans to sell the remaining 41,490 bitcoins in four separate tranches through 2023, according to a court filing.
Ripple versus the SEC
XRP (XRP-USD) climbed 3.06% to $0.5192 – a weekly gain of 15.57%.
It is believed that Ripple Labs, whose crypto payment platform uses XRP, will soon resolve its ongoing legal battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC has accused the company and its executives of violating securities regulations.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler asked Congress for $2.4 billion in funding last Wednesday to bolster the agency’s efforts to combat cryptocurrency-related malpractices.
Binance versus the CFTC
The cryptocurrency market has experienced instability due to last week’s lawsuits by US regulators against the crypto exchange Binance.
Last Monday, the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed an enforcement case against Binance and its founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao.
According to the CFTC, which has been investigating Binance’s operations since 2021, the company failed to meet its regulatory obligations by failing to properly register with the derivatives regulator.
The CFTC classifies bitcoin (BTC-USD), ethereum (ETH-USD) and litecoin (LTC-USD) as commodities and has accused Binance of conducting unregistered derivatives trading in these digital assets.
Read more: Binance: Investors withdraw more than $2 billion after enforcement by US regulators
Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has also been accused of encouraging Americans to “avoid compliance checks” by the US regulator.
Stock markets
US stocks advanced on Friday, as the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation target indicated signs of cooling, and a potential end to the Fed’s monetary policy tightening cycle.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) rose 1.7%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 1.2% and 1.4%, respectively.
See: Polygon to ‘overtake Ethereum in terms of economic activity,’ claims co-founder | Crypto Mile
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