Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s most well-known cryptocurrency, has been on a declining trend and recently dropped to around the $28,054.36 level.
Although BTC had been performing very well in the past few months and even reached a multi-month high of 30k, it was unable to sustain its rally and has lost its momentum.
The price of bitcoin (BTC) continued to pull back after having touched $31,000 less than one week ago, sending the shares of related stocks down sharply in Thursday trading. At press time, bitcoin was lower by 3.4% over the past 24 hours to $28,200. pic.twitter.com/4Vifp1bnMr
— CRYPTOAUXILIARY.COM (@CRYPTOAUXILIARY) April 21, 2023
Bitcoin Price
Bitcoin is currently trading at $28,129, with a 24-hour trading volume of $21.5 billion. Bitcoin has dropped by more than 2% in the previous 24 hours. If talking about other popular cryptocurrencies, such as Dogecoin (DOGE), Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Litecoin (LTC), they all have also seen a decrease in their value.
@CoinbaseGlobal is showing their commitment to the future of #cryptocurrency! With new licenses in Bermuda and expansion into Brazil and Canada, they're doubling down in Europe and beyond! #COIN #Bitcoin
— Anmol Shah (@daraztrader) April 21, 2023
However, the bearish crypto market can be attributed to multiple factors, including increasing regulatory pressure in the United States, the possibility of an interest rate hike, and a drop in BTC’s dominance in the market.
Thus, these factors have been imposing negative energy on Bitcoin prices.
Coinbase Expands to Bahamas Amid Mounting Regulatory Pressure in the US
The global cryptocurrency market has been on a decline and its overall value currently stands at $1.20 trillion, which is a 1.19% decrease in the last 24 hours. This drop could be due to the increasing regulatory pressure on the cryptocurrency industry in the United States.
To combat this, Coinbase, the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, has received its digital asset company license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority. This move will allow Coinbase to open an offshore derivatives exchange in the Bahamas as early as next week.
FTX was Bahamas which is 1,500 km south west of Bermuda and an entirely different regulatory regime.
— Anthony Nagel (@tnagel63) April 19, 2023
This move comes in response to increasing regulatory pressure faced by Coinbase in the United States. While the news is positive for Coinbase, as it allows the company to expand its offerings and stay competitive, it also highlights the challenges that crypto exchanges face in navigating regulatory frameworks.
Furthermore, Coinbase has been expanding its presence globally, with Abu Dhabi, Canada, Brazil, and Singapore being some of the other places it has expanded to. The company is currently in the middle of an eight-week international expansion drive.
This expansion shows that Coinbase is trying to grow its business beyond the United States, where regulators have been cracking down on the cryptocurrency industry. Last month, Coinbase was issued a Wells Notice from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for alleged violations of federal securities law.
Thus, the impact of this news on BTC is not clear yet, but it could suggest that Coinbase is trying to diversify its operations and reduce its dependence on the US market. This could potentially have a positive impact on BTC in the long run.
Bitcoin Faces Setback with 1-Month Lows and 3.16% Price Drop in 24 Hours
Glassnode, a blockchain intelligence firm, has reported that the Mean Block Size (7d MA) for Bitcoin has reached a 1-month low of 1,729,269.574, and the Number of BTC Spent Outputs with a Lifespan of less than 1h (7d MA) has also hit a 1-month low of 7,738.946.
#Bitcoin $BTC Mean Block Size (7d MA) just reached a 1-month low of 1,729,269.574
Previous 1-month low of 1,729,395.639 was observed on 16 April 2023
View metric:https://t.co/GT3eQ9yt0Y pic.twitter.com/12cRhFHjl7
— glassnode alerts (@glassnodealerts) April 21, 2023
This news has also played a major role in undermining the BTC, which has already seen a 3.16% drop in price over the last 24 hours. Thereby, BTC’s dominance in the market has also dropped by 0.25%.
Currently trading at around $28,004.17, BTC’s price is hovering on the key support level of $28k, and a drop below this level may cause its price to fall further to the next support level at around $27,100 in the next 24-48 hours.
US Dollar Headed for Weekly Gain Amid Bets on Fed Rate Hike
The broad-based US dollar is going to end this week on a bullish note as investors anticipate a possible rate increase from the Federal Reserve in May. This news is very good for the US dollar but not good for BTC.
Dollar clings to gains, economic outlook clouds – Reutershttps://t.co/v0RzRgR07N
— Open Outcrier (@OpenOutcrier) April 21, 2023
Therefore, if the US dollar is expected to strengthen due to a possible rate increase from the Federal Reserve, this news may not be good for BTC as investors may shift their investments towards the US dollar, leading to a drop in BTC’s value.
On the flip side, the US economy may face challenges as data has shown a rise in new unemployment claims and a decline in manufacturing activity, which could lead to a recession. This could ultimately impact the price of BTC and other cryptocurrencies in the market.
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