Cryptocurrency market experienced a decline on Wednesday after the release of the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. According to CoinMarketCap data, Bitcoin fluctuated between $69,190 and $70,685, with a 0.68% decrease over the past 24 hours, reaching a trading price of $69,107.04 at the time of writing. Ethereum also dropped from its nine-week high of $3,840 to below $3,800, with a similar 24-hour decrease. Altcoins also gave back some of their recent gains, with the top 200 tokens showing more decreases than increases. Among the rising tokens, ConstitutionDAO (PEOPLE) had the highest increase of 33.8%, followed by DOG•GO•TO•THE•MOON (DOG) with a 31.4% increase, and Livepeer (LPT) with a 16.5% increase. The largest decrease was seen in Lido DAO, which dropped by 6.9%, followed by Nervos Network (CKB) with a 6.7% decrease, and ssv.network (SSV) with a 5.9% decrease. The overall market capitalization of cryptocurrencies is currently $2.59 trillion, with Bitcoin dominating at 53.2%. In the traditional markets, the S&P, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq all closed with declines of 0.27%, 0.51%, and 0.18% respectively. The FOMC minutes revealed concerns about the loose environment and policy uncertainty. Despite the support provided by the Ethereum ETF narrative, geopolitical tensions and uncertainty regarding the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts remain significant factors. The minutes showed a “hawkish” tone from the Federal Reserve, indicating that while officials still believe rates are high enough to curb economic activity and reduce inflation, they are less certain about the extent of policy tightening. Some unnamed officials mentioned that if inflation risks make tightening policy reasonable, they would be willing to further tighten policy. Analysts from Secure Digital Markets stated that despite some outperformance by tokens like MYRO and WIF, Bitcoin continues to follow the overall market downturn. They predict that Bitcoin’s price seems to be heading towards the $67,000 to $69,000 range. In regards to the Ethereum ETF discussion in the United States, Neil Roarty, an analyst from Stocklytics, pointed out that the approval of an Ethereum ETF is crucial for the token as it could lead to broader adoption and a significant increase in price. However, he warned that there is still uncertainty surrounding Ethereum and the broader Ethereum blockchain, primarily awaiting confirmation from the SEC. Meanwhile, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Ether should be classified as a security rather than a commodity. If it is indeed ruled as a security, the subsequent regulatory impact could undermine Ethereum’s plans to bring cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to the masses. Kadan Stadelmann, the Chief Technology Officer of Komodo, stated that the SEC’s stance on ETH is meaningless. He questioned why the SEC did not clarify this point before Ethereum transitioned to Proof of Stake if pledging could jeopardize its classification. Despite this, Greg Taylor, the Chief Investment Officer of Purpose Investments in Canada, remains optimistic about this development. He welcomes a favorable ruling from the SEC that would lead to the launch of a spot Ethereum ETF, as it signifies that more people will have a secure and reliable way to access the Ethereum ecosystem. Ganesh Swami, the CEO and Co-founder of Covalent, believes that the news about the Ethereum ETF indicates a growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies by Wall Street. He added that institutions are starting to realize how much money they can make from custody services, stablecoins, and digital assets as a whole, and they want to get involved. With the approval of a BTC ETF, they have seen the positive transformation of the market as traders buy on the news, leading to increased buying activity and a significant increase in the price of Bitcoin. Swami also noted a significant shift in the SEC’s attitude towards an ETH ETF, which he believes may be politically motivated. He stated that as the 2024 elections approach, those in power are seeking votes in various fields, including the cryptocurrency industry. This demonstrates the influence that cryptocurrencies have gained since the last election, as candidates are now competing for industry favor. Overall, this is a very positive moment for the cryptocurrency market and an opportunity for tokens to reach new all-time highs.
