Investing.com– Bitcoin price fell on Wednesday, further reversing a rebound seen over the weekend as persistent concerns over more regulatory scrutiny against the crypto industry kept traders largely wary of buying in.
Broader crypto prices were also pressured by uncertainty over U.S. interest rates, after several Federal Reserve officials signaled this week that the central bank was more likely to keep rates unchanged in 2024. The rebounded from recent losses after their comments.
fell 1.5% in the past 24 hours to $62,523.2 by 00:44 ET (04:44 GMT). The world’s largest cryptocurrency remained comfortably within a trading range seen for most of the past two months, as momentum in the token waned after it hit a record high in March.
Capital flows data released earlier this week also showed that crypto investment products, particularly Bitcoin, saw a third straight week of steep outflows as hype over exchange-traded funds launched earlier this year ran dry.
Regulatory jitters keep crypto sentiment dim
A report released earlier this week showed that over 90% of transactions in stablecoins- which are an important aspect of crypto trade- were inorganic and not from real users, raising questions over just how much retail demand there actually was for crypto.
The report also raised concerns over more regulatory action against stablecoin operators, specifically , which is the largest of the lot.
In instances of actual regulatory action, trading app Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:) said it was facing potential regulatory action from the Securities and Exchange Commission over the nature of crypto tokens traded on its platforms. The SEC has long argued that crypto tokens are securities, and is currently embroiled in legal battles with XRP issuer and crypto exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:) over the matter.
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The SEC is also reportedly investigating world no. 2 crypto Ethereum over it potentially being a security, and had this week postponed a decision to approve spot-traded Ethereum ETFs for U.S. markets to July.
But the regulator is widely expected to reject applications for the ETF.
Crypto price today: altcoins drop amid rate uncertainty
Broader cryptocurrency prices retreated, also coming under pressure from a resurgence in the dollar as Federal Reserve officials said the central bank was likely to leave interest rates unchanged this year.
fell 1.5% to $3,018.85, while and fell 5% and 3%, respectively.
High for longer U.S. rates bode poorly for crypto markets, given that the sector usually benefits from a low-rate, high-liquidity environment.