According to Coin Metrics, Bitcoin rose 1.7% to $27,293.64, earlier this week. Throughout May, the largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has been trading in a small range, struggling to break above $30,000, but managed to stay above $25,000.
On the other hand, ether advanced nearly 2% to $1,851.91.
The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has announced that ordinary investors would be able to trade various crypto assets beginning next month, mostly through authorised trading platforms.
The move was widely anticipated, with the announcement marking the end of a request for public comment it put out, earlier in February on its proposed regulatory needs around retail trading in cryptocurrency markets.
The latest guidelines are part of a broader effort by Hong Kong to become a cryptocurrency marketplace all around the world. That ambition is in sharp contrast with China, which banned crypto trading in 2021, as well as the U.S., where the regulatory posture towards crypto has turned wrathful since the downfall of FTX.
Noelle Acheson, economist and author of the famous newsletter “Crypto is Macro Now,” said, “This news doesn’t mean that a flood of retail buying power will enter the market at the beginning of June. … We could see some volume uptick in June, however.”
“Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission has already licensed two digital asset platforms, OSL and Hash Blockchain, and it’s likely some are already actively trading offshore,” Acheson added.
Owen Lau, an executive director and analyst at Oppenheimer, called Hong Kong “pretty aggressive” for trying to become a crypto marketplace.
“It will continue to capture the attention of the community and attract more firms to set up offices in Hong Kong,” Lau said.
“It is hard to gauge the exact impact, but it has a long-term effect on capital flow and talent movement,” he added.
However, the price move is small, and the news comes at a time when the market is lacking in big facilitators and trading has hit a cessation. In addition, while investors keep an eye on the debt ceiling negotiations and rate hike expectations surge. The largest cryptocurrency asset, Bitcoin, has started behaving like a risk asset again, just as it was starting to trade more in combination with gold.
Furthermore, Bitcoin and Ether are on track to have their worst month in 2023, with losses of 7.6% and 3.1%, respectively..
Currently, Bitcoin is down 4.5% for the quarter, after finishing Q1 up 71%. Ether, on the other hand, is up 1%, after posting a 52% gain in Q1.a
- Published By Team Genuine Reporter