Key Takeaways
Bitcoin topped $100,000 again Wednesday, climbing back after recently sliding under $90,000 for the first time since November. Inflation data and a Reuters report that encouraged crypto backers likely lifted the leading cryptocurrency. The SEC could alter its crypto policy as soon as next week, and ongoing enforcement actions could be paused, according to Reuters.
Bitcoin climbed back above $100,000 on Wednesday, rising on fresh inflation data that lifted stocks and regulatory news seen as bullish for cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin recently traded just under the six-digit level. Its latest moves followed the release of better-than-expected Consumer Price Index data and a Reuters report about regulatory developments seen as potentially on the way for the crypto industry in the next Trump administration.
The rise also follows a volatile stretch for bitcoin, which on Monday slid below $90,000 for the first time since mid-November.
The CPI news indicated that the Federal Reserve may be more likely to lower interest rates in the future, assuaging some investors fears of an extended pause or even higher rates. Lower rates and Treasury yields tend to send investors searching for returns in riskier assets.
New leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission plans to overhaul the agency’s crypto policies as soon as next week, Reuters reported. The SEC could provide clearer guidance on when a crypto asset is considered a security, a clarification that crypto exchanges like Coinbase have called for. Some Biden administration enforcement actions might also be frozen, Reuters reported.
In an interview with Yahoo! Finance yesterday, outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler shared his belief that current laws and regulations can be applied to the crypto industry, and the issue crypto exchanges face is that they simply do not like the law.
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