5 Things to Know in Crypto Today: BTC Falls to $21K, Now Below 21 & 50DMA, Realized Price Pre-Fed

Key Points

• Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies have been on the back foot since the start of the week amid pre-Fed de-risking.
• Bitcoin was last trading below its 21 and 50DMAs, as well as its realized price.
• The SEC is investigating Coinbase over having potentially listed unregistered securities.

Bitcoin Falls Back Under 21, 50DMAs Plus Realized Price Amid Pre-FOMC Jitters

Cryptocurrencies have come under selling pressure at the start of a big week in terms of macro risk events, with traders clearly looking to take some risk off of the table. The Fed’s policy announcement on Wednesday, where it is expected to hike interest rates by 75 bps for a second successive meeting, is the main focus, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s tone on the outlook for the economy and further tightening in the post-meeting press conference key. US Q2 GDP data on Thursday, as well as flash July Eurozone CPI data and June US Core PCE data on Friday, will also be in focus, as well as a barrage of earnings from US mega-cap companies over the next three days.

On which note, earnings on Monday from Walmart seemingly dented risk appetite after the company cut its profit outlook and warned that consumers are increasingly pulling back on discretionary spending as the rising cost of food and energy bites. Meanwhile, concerns about Russia lowering gas supplies to Germany amid the ongoing energy crisis are keeping European recession fears in focus. As such, US major US equity index futures are a little lower in pre-US open trade and this is weighing on crypto on Tuesday.

Bitcoin was last trading just above the $21,000 level, having dipped as low as the $20,800s overnight. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is now below its 50 and 21-Day Moving Averages at $22,000 and $21,500 respectively, having dipped roughly 4.0% in the last 24 hours, as per CoinMarketCap. Analysts also noted that Bitcoin has also fallen back below its so-called “realized price”, the price at which the average Bitcoin last moved, at $21,850 per token.

Twitter user and Bitcoin analyst @therationalroot warned that “either we find support here or we might get another arch below realized price like in 2014”, and warned that the concerning macro backdrop might indicate the latter.

Cycle comparison: either we find support here or we might get another arch below realized price like in 2014.
Macro might indicate the latter.#Bitcoin #onchain pic.twitter.com/zfphUK2mzv

— Root 🥕 (@therationalroot) July 25, 2022

In terms of the major altoins; Ethereum was last trading just above $1,400, down close to 7.0% in the last 24 hours, though the fact that the 21DMA recently rose above the 50DMA is a positive near-term technical signal. Binance’s BNB, Ripple’s XRP, Cardano’s ADA, Solana’s SOL and Dogecoin were each last down between 3-7% in the last 24 hours. Total cryptocurrency market cap fell back to just below $950 billion on Tuesday and was last pretty much bang on its 21 and 50DMAs.

SEC Investigating Coinbase Over Listing Unregistered Securities

According to a report first broken on Monday by Bloomberg, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating the largest US crypto exchange Coinbase on suspicion that it may have listed unregistered securities. The new investigation into Coinbase comes after the SEC claimed last week in a new insider trading lawsuit that seven cryptocurrencies currently listed on Coinbase are actually securities.

“We are confident that our rigorous diligence process—a process the SEC has already reviewed—keeps securities off our platform, and we look forward to engaging with the SEC on the matter,” said Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal.

US Stablecoin Rules Unlikely Before September

Sources told the media that a bipartisan bill to regulate stablecoins in the US has become bogged down in negotiations, likely delaying any bills passage to September, when lawmakers return from summer holidays. The sources said that lawmakers are mulling publishing draft wording in order to spur on the conversation. Any such bill is expected to set out a path for non-bank companies to issue stablecoins (like USDC’s Circle Internet Financial and USDT’s Tether), though only if they can meet robust capital and liquidity requirements.

US Congressman Proposed $3M Additional Funds To Bolster Treasury’s Crypto Crime Fighting Capabilities

Democrat US Congressman Josh Gottheimer on Monday proposed a change to the federal budget bill that would see the US Treasury Department receive an additional $3 million to bolster its crypto crime-fighting capabilities. According to Gottenheimer’s proposal, the Treasury could use the money to buy better blockchain analysis tools and improve staff training.

Thailand’s SEC Collecting Information From Zipmex Customers Following Withdrawal Halt

In wake of Thai crypto exchange Zipmex’s decision to halt user withdrawals last week, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is collecting information from affected investors. Zipmex cited circumstances beyond its control as behind its decision to halt withdrawals, including “volatile market conditions”. Zipmex has since partially restarted withdrawals from its trading wallet.

Zipmex customers can now submit information regarding their experience to the Thai SEC via the agency’s website. Zipmex is the latest casualty of the ongoing crypto winter, with the Thai exchange joining a host of other international counterparts to have halted withdrawals including the now bankrupt Celsius Network and Voyager Digital.