Five Things to Know in Crypto This Week: Binance and the Fed Weigh

Key Insights:

• The total crypto market underperformed the NASDAQ Composite Index this week, falling 1.80%, Monday through Friday.
• Binance-related news and a lack of progress in the SEC v Ripple case weighed on investor sentiment.
• Sentiment toward the ETF applications and related comments delivered brief support.

Crypto Market Set to End a Three-Week Winning Streak

After a bullish Monday session, the crypto market saw three consecutive days in the red, with BTC returning to sub-$30,000 for the first time since June.

Increased scrutiny of the digital asset space weighed on investor sentiment, with Binance grabbing the news headlines throughout the week.

Recessionary fears, hawkish Fed minutes, and US economic indicators delivered a choppy week as investors grappled with the influence of central bank monetary policy on the global economy.

From the US, the FOMC meeting minutes, ADP nonfarm employment change, and ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI numbers fueled bets on consecutive monthly Fed interest rate hikes in July and September. Rising borrowing costs contributed to the Monday to Friday losses. The US Jobs Report had little impact on Fed Fear.

The NASDAQ Composite Index also struggled, with the latest US economic indicators supporting a July rate hike ahead of the US CPI Report next Tuesday.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of a 25-basis point July Fed rate hike was 93.0% versus 86.8% one week earlier. Significantly, the chances of the Fed lifting rates to 5.75% in September stood at 24.2%, up from 20.8% one week earlier.

XRP Underperforms on SEC v Ripple Silence

It was another quiet week for XRP, with no updates from the ongoing SEC v Ripple case to provide direction. The lack of Court rulings left XRP in a bearish trend pattern.

Sentiment has deteriorated since the SEC released the William Hinman speech-related documents. The XRP community had hoped for a settlement before the SEC released the speech-related documents. However, the documents failed to cause a market uproar, leaving investors in limbo until the summary judgments.

Investors brushed aside Ripple-related news that, under normal circumstances, would deliver XRP price support, reflecting the bearish sentiment toward the Court silence.

On Friday, Ripple shared updates on the UBRI program that started in 2018. Sharing the latest on Twitter, Ripple said,

“UBRI has now established more than 50 university partners across six continents, awarded 590 fellowships and scholarships, and supported the publication of over 1,000 research articles and presentations.”

News of Ripple entering the tokenized real estate space was also XRP positive, with the Ripple platform continuing to grow despite the SEC v Ripple case.

Central Bank Digital Currencies have gained traction this year. Ripple is actively exploring CBDCs and use cases of CBDCs and stablecoins in the real world. Ripple CBDC advisor Antony Welfare had this to say,

“CBDCs are gaining traction globally, and Ripple CBDC team are focusing in on real-world use cases for a CBDC or stablecoin.”

Welfare offered two real-use cases related to real estate tokenization, including allowing users to tokenize real estate as collateral for loans.

For the current week, XRP is down 3.67% to $0.4667, with the bears targeting a fourth weekly loss in five weeks.

Binance Troubles Continued to Grow as Regulatory Scrutiny Intensified

It was another tough week for Binance and Binance CEO CZ. Increased regulatory scrutiny tested binance coin (BNB) support, as the Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC) joined a growing list of regulators to investigate the exchange.

On Wednesday, news hit the wires of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) investigating Binance’s Australian derivatives business. The Australian regulator reportedly searched the Binance offices.

The latest regulatory probe follows increased scrutiny by regulators in Europe as governments and regulators respond to the SEC filing against Binance.US, Binance, and Binance CEO CZ.

News of executive-level departures and reports of Binance cutting headcount also tested buyer appetite.

Binance CEO CZ tried to downplay the news, saying,

“More FUD about some departures. Yes, there is turnover (at every company). But the reasons dreamed up by the news are completely wrong.”

BNB was down 4.50% to $235.4 this morning.

Bitcoin ETF Euphoria Waned on JPMorgan Assessment

The euphoria from the end of June fizzled out in the first week of July. While the markets responded favorably to the news of Blackrock Inc. (BLK), Fidelity, & co resubmitting their applications, uncertainty lingered on whether the SEC would approve any, some, or all.

On Monday, the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC refiled the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF application with the SEC. Addressing comments from the SEC, Blackrock announced a surveillance agreement with Coinbase (COIN), which is currently facing SEC charges.

The markets responded favorably to the filing. Blackrock CEO Larry Fink spoke later in the week, hailing BTC as an international asset and labeled BTC digital gold. Fink’s words also provided brief support before BTC and the broader crypto market hit reverse on Fed Fear.

On Friday, US banking giant JPMorgan (JPM) gave its assessment of the Spot ETF applications, doubting that the approval of a US Bitcoin ETF would be a game changer. JPMorgan noted that such ETFs have existed in Canada and Europe for years.

This morning, BTC was down 0.82% to $30,380 for the current week.

FBI Raids Former Kraken CEO Jesse Powell on Suspicions of Hacking

It was a busy week for the crypto market. While Binance held the limelight, Kraken was back in the news. On Thursday, news hit the wires of the FBI raiding the home of former Kraken CEO Jesse Powell in March.

However, Powell’s lawyer Brandon Fox looked to disassociate the raid from the crypto world. Fox said that the investigation is unrelated to “Mr. Powell’s employment or his conduct in the cryptocurrency arena.”