Bitcoin
BTC
The bitcoin price topped $35,000 per bitcoin late last month, up more than double from where it began 2023—a rally that caused one legendary billionaire to admit he should have bought bitcoin.
Now, analysts with bitcoin and crypto investment company QCP Capital have warned U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler could “rug pull” the market with new regulations.
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The bitcoin price has rocketed higher this year, however, some fear fresh U.S. regulation to torpedo … [+]
“We expect only a major rug pull from Gensler will be able to take us back below $32,000 at this stage,” QCP researchers wrote in their latest market report.
Gensler has waged war against what he considers to be the bitcoin and crypto “Wild West” over the last two years, taking action against major crypto companies such as XRP
XRP
In June, Gensler stepped up his attacks on crypto by suing two of the largest bitcoin and crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance for securities violations, throwing into doubt the future of the U.S. crypto industry.
In September, a U.S. court ordered the SEC to reexamine crypto asset manager Grayscale’s bid to convert its flagship bitcoin trust to a fully-fledged bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF)—with the market celebrating the order signal to the regulator that it should wave Grayscale’s application through and a flurry of rival bitcoin spot ETF bids from the likes of Wall Street giants BlackRock
BLK
“It will take the spot ETF approval for us to start the new exponential leg higher,” the QCP analysts wrote, adding the latest bitcoin price rally was more due to “macro forces” than spot ETF “developments” due to “a smaller than expected Treasury [first quarter] supply estimate … and dovish FOMC (Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee) sent bond yields tumbling and in turn risk assets soaring.”
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The bitcoin price has doubled this year despite the growing threat of a U.S. regulatory crackdown.
Meanwhile, other bitcoin and crypto market watchers have described the “hype” around a potential bitcoin spot ETF as a “popular narrative” that’s helped drive the bitcoin price higher recently.
“It’s impossible to say with any accuracy exactly what effect it would have were the U.S. SEC were to approve a spot bitcoin ETF, but we expect significant price inflation,” Katie Evans of Swarm Markets said in emailed comments.
“One thing it will do is end speculative bitcoin trading behavior as to whether a U.S.-based ETF will be approved, which has been a popular narrative in the bitcoin market in the past couple of boom and bust cycles. Nevertheless, over the long-term, the arrival of a true bitcoin ETC
ETC
