Bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies edged higher Friday, sitting near key levels as the digital asset space reels from a U.S. regulatory crackdown on the two leading crypto exchanges, Binance and
Coinbase
Global.
The price of Bitcoin has risen less than 1% over the past 24 hours to $26,600, sitting in the midst of a trading range between $26,000 and $27,000 that has mostly dominated since the largest crypto failed to hold April’s peak above $30,000. While Bitcoin fell into the $25,000 zone this week as the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance and
Coinbase
(ticker: COIN), digital assets have shaken off this threat amid an absence of sellers after a year-long bear market.
“Bitcoin is trading near $26,500—in the middle of the previous day’s trading range and just above the psychologically important 200-week moving average,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, an analyst at broker FxPro. “A break below this level could trigger a deeper decline to $24,500 (previous high) or even $22,200 (50-week moving average).”
Next week looms large on the macroeconomic front, with Bitcoin likely to react aside the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500
to U.S. inflation data due Tuesday, and the latest interest-rate decision from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
In the meantime, pressures continue to build on the crypto exchanges charged by the SEC for, among other things, offering unregistered securities in the U.S.
Berenberg analyst Mark Palmer slashed his price target on Coinbase stock Thursday while maintaining a Hold rating, though he called the shares “uninvestable” amid the significant regulatory overgang. Ratings agency Moody’s on Thursday changed their outlook on Coinbase’s debt—particularly, the corporate family rating and guaranteed senior unsecured notes—to negative from stable, citing the SEC complaint.
Beyond Bitcoin,
Ether
—the second-largest crypto—gained less than 1% to around $1,850. Smaller cryptos or altcoins were more mixed, with
Cardano
crumbling 4% but
Polygon
popping 2% higher. Memecoins were buoyant, with both
Dogecoin
and
Shiba Inu
up less than 1%.
Write to Jack Denton at [email protected]
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