Five Things to Know in Crypto This Week: SEC – Binance Deal Bullish

Key Insights:

• US economic indicators and the Fed Deliver a choppy week for the Crypto Market.
• However, the William Hinman speech-related documents left XRP trailing the broader market.
• On Saturday, news of a Binance US deal with the US SEC delivered a broad-based crypto rally.

US Economic Indicators and the Fed Deliver a Choppy Week

It has been a choppy week for the crypto market. The Fed delivered a hawkish rate pause on Wednesday, raising the peak Fed Funds Rate from 5.1% to 5.6%. While hawkish, the economic projections were also bullish.

The Fed projects unemployment to reach 4.1% by the end of 2023, down from 4.5% in March. However, the Fed forecasted the Core PCE Price Index to sit at 3.9% by the year-end versus 3.6% in March, suggesting the Fed could go higher than a peak rate of 5.6%.

Investors responded to the hawkish pause, with the total crypto market cap falling to a Thursday low of $975.28 billion.

However, US economic indicators provided much-needed support. US jobless claims, retail sales, and consumer sentiment figures fueled a Thursday and Friday recovery.

Earlier in the week, a softer US CPI Report failed to spur a sustained breakout, with investors cautious ahead of the FOMC interest rate decision and economic projections.

Binance US Strikes Deal with the US SEC

On Saturday, the news of Binance striking a deal to address the SEC’s motion to freeze Binance US assets supported a breakout Saturday morning.

Binance, Binance US, and the SEC reportedly agreed on a deal restricting access to customer funds to Binance US employees. Awaiting a sign-off from the Federal Judge, the agreement will prevent Binance Holdings staff from having access to private keys for US wallets.

The SEC filed a motion to freeze the assets of Binance US shortly after filing charges against Binance, Binance US, and Binance CEO CZ.

BNB fell to a Monday low of $221 before finding support. This morning, binance coin (BNB) was up 5.06% to $247 Monday through Saturday morning.

William Hinman Speech-Related Docs Send XRP South

On June 13, the SEC disclosed the heavily anticipated William Hinman speech-related documents. The release of the speech-related dashed hopes of an SEC settlement, leaving XRP on the back foot.

Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty shared a summary and his views on the Hinman docs, concluding,

“Hinman’s speech should never again be invoked in any serious discussion about whether a token is or is not a security. Unelected bureaucrats must faithfully apply the law within the constraints of their jurisdiction. They can’t – as Hinman tried – create new law.”

While Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse tweeted his views on the documents, there was no reaction from the SEC or US lawmakers.

On Saturday morning, XRP was down 7.70% to $0.48083 for the current week.

Blackrock Files Request to Launch Bitcoin ETF

On Thursday, Blackrock Inc. (BLK) delivered crypto market cheer by filing the necessary documentation with the SEC to launch the iShares Bitcoin Trust. The ETF seeks to reflect the performance of bitcoin (BTC).

Significantly, approval of the ETF would pave the way for institutional investors to include BTC in their investment portfolios.

The markets responded favorably to the news, with Blackrock Inc. rallying 2.71% on Thursday.

Nike Undeterred by Anti-Digital Asset Rhetoric with Hints of NFT Drop

The NFT marketplace got a new lease of life going into the weekend. The news  hit the wires of Nike (NKE) hinting at an NFT drop on Fortnite, part of the Epic Games portfolio, on June 20.

According to Active Player, Fortnite reportedly had 243 million active players over the last 30 days.