Bears beaten back: Cryptocurrency markets are quiet heading into the Thanksgiving Day long weekend. Traditional markets are shuttered in the U.S. and, as usual, many are predicting turkey day bitcoin and crypto debates to break up family arguments over politics.
The bitcoin price is up around 3% on this time yesterday, with ethereum making similar gains. Binance’s BNB has soared 8%, while solana has dropped 2%. Crypto.com’s cro has crashed back by 12% following its huge rally over the last week or so.
24-hour crypto market snapshot
- Bitcoin (+3%) $58,321
- Ethereum (+3%) $4,420
- Binance coin (+8%) $636.44
- Cro (-12%) $0.8196
Keep an eye out this morning for the latest European Central Bank meeting minutes, expected to shed further light on president Christine Lagarde’s thoughts on next year’s planned interest rate hikes.
The strengthening dollar’s impact on bitcoin, 2022 roadmap:
U.S. financial regulators have laid out an inter-agency policy agenda for regulating cryptocurrencies with the so-called “crypto sprint,” as it’s been named by officials, sketching out a to-do list for 2022 that will offer crypto players highly-sought-after clarity on the rules of the game. The plan, first reported by Bloomberg this week, also included a new policy that would require banks to seek permission before offering digital currency products.
Those involved include the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). “Throughout 2022, the agencies plan to provide greater clarity on whether certain activities related to crypto-assets conducted by banking organizations are legally permissible,” the Fed, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in a statement.
Regulators are expected to focus on oversight of how banks can store crypto assets safely, handling exchanging customers’ fiat currency for cryptocurrencies, and offering purchases of cryptocurrencies. They’ll also look at settling and executing trades, loans backed by crypto assets, issuing stablecoins, and tax services.
Why it matters: Wall Street banks have been quickly rolling out crypto-related services this year in an effort to keep up with demand that’s sky-rocketed along with the soaring price of bitcoin and the broader crypto market. Meanwhile, cryptocurrency exchanges, platforms and companies have been crying out for regulatory clarity in recent months as the rapidly-growing crypto industry draws the eye of watchdogs around the world.
The bottom line: The inter-agency goal is to make sure consumers are protected and that banks act responsibly. That’s no mean feat.
New German leader is bad news for bitcoin
Olaf Scholz, who has served as Germany’s finance minister since March 2018 when he warned over bitcoin price growth, will head a three-party coalition in the country.
Germany’s new chancellor Olaf Scholz isn’t a fan of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, with the former finance minister previously warning over a “tulip”-style bubble developing in the crypto market.
“I would doubt whether [bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have] any prospects as a currency model,” Scholz said in 2018, going on to warn over bitcoin’s eye-watering energy demands.
“I do not support private sector digital currencies,” Scholz went on to say in November last year, adding: “We must do everything possible to make sure the currency monopoly remains in the hands of states.”