After last week’s volatility, Bitcoin has found its range, sideways trading in the $22k-$24k area for the past week. While Bitcoin found substantial support at the $22k level yesterday, BTC price saw additional price growth today, rising to $23k at writing. The global cryptocurrency market cap remains relatively flat at the $1 trillion level, signaling bullish short-term sentiment. Moreover, the 24-hour trading volume for BTC also remains relatively unchanged, up 4.53% in the past 24 hours.
Key Points:
- Bitcoin price rises to $23k and continues to trade sideways.
- One of Bitcoin’s biggest proponents, Michael Saylor, stepped down as CEO and took a new post as executive chairman after MicroStrategy failed to meet earnings expectations in Q2.
- A new bill is looking to classify Bitcoin as a commodity, falling under CFTC’s regulation.
- BTC price continues to follow tech stocks price action, specifically the NASDAQ.
Crypto Market and Bitcoin News
According to yesterday’s report from Yahoo Finance, one of Bitcoin’s most vocal supporters, Michael Saylor, stepped down as CEO of MicroStrategy. The company’s president, Phone Le, will take over the CEO role, while Saylor will take on a new post as the company’s executive chairman, focusing on MicroStrategy’s long-term Bitcoin acquisition strategy.
One reason for the position change is likely the company’s underwhelming earnings which fell short of Wall Street estimates. In an earnings report released Tuesday, the company revealed it had profited $122.1 million in Q2 2022, falling slightly short of the $126 million expected earnings. Moreover, the company’s total losses last quarter amounted to almost $1 billion ($918.1 million), 99% of which came from MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin holdings.
Despite the crypto bear market, MicroStrategy will continue to focus on their crypto endeavors, as their cryptocurrency holdings amount to over $2.9 billion at the time of writing.
In other news, a new bill is being proposed by Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow and Senator John Boozman to give the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) additional regulatory authority for cryptocurrency markets. To classify Bitcoin and other digital assets as a commodity, the bill would require crypto exchanges and platforms to register with the CFTC.
This isn’t the first time a government agency is looking to establish regulation and control over cryptocurrency markets; we’ve seen the SEC claim crypto assets are securities, the IRS claim cryptocurrencies are money, and now the CFTC is looking to claim Bitcoin as a commodity.
The best outcome for crypto assets is a clear and defined regulatory framework upon which the various agencies agree on. This would ensure a consistent and straightforward path for new and emerging tech surrounding crypto assets and prevent stifling innovation in the United States.
Bitcoin Price Analysis and Prediction
As yesterday’s Bitcoin price article predicted, as long as the global cryptocurrency market holds above the $1 trillion level, the bulls will remain in control, and current support levels will hold.
We’re seeing Bitcoin’s price narrowing its sideways trading range and decreasing its volatility as markets continue to trade sideways. The $22k support level remains a critical area for BTC as the digital asset attempts to establish new support at the $23k level.
1M BTCUSD // Source: CoinMarketCap
BTC is likely to continue trading in the current range until the end of the week. Bitcoin will continue following the stock market price movements, and since stocks have been relatively flat this week, BTC follows suit.
For those looking to get a head start on the next Bitcoin price movement, it’s essential to keep an eye on any major stock news and look out for any significant moves for tech stocks and NASDAQ in particular. With earnings season upon us, we could see bullish price action for companies that exceed expectations for Q2 2022.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any stocks.
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