Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced modest declines in the past week as they approached the weekend. Although there was a slight increase in the middle of the week due to the news of lower-than-anticipated inflation readings from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Bitcoin has seen a decline of 7.9% and is currently being traded at $26,817. Despite the positive announcement that the Principality of Liechtenstein will soon start accepting Bitcoin as payment for state services, the leading cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization has experienced a greater loss compared to Ethereum this week.
Bitcoin has faced competition from a strengthening U.S. dollar during this week. Normally, there is an inverse correlation between the value of Bitcoin and the dollar, so the recent rise in the dollar's value has resulted in a decrease in Bitcoin's worth.
Amid the strength of the dollar and a decrease in trading activity, Bitcoin has reached its lowest point in two months.
According to blockchain analyst Domo's Dune dashboard, the utilization of Bitcoin for Ordinals non-fungible tokens seems to be decelerating. On May 11, trading volume witnessed a 50% decline and has remained significantly lower compared to the majority of May.
Bitcoin transaction fees experienced a brief surge, reaching a two-year high on Tuesday with an average price of $31.14, as reported by BitInfoCharts. However, the fees have since dropped and are now below $10.
Ethereum, on the other hand, saw a 5.8% decrease over the course of seven days and is currently being traded at $1,800. This decline is relatively small compared to other cryptocurrencies in the market this week, where the overall impact was not significant.
Among the cryptocurrencies that experienced declines of more than 8% this week, Polygon fell by 11.5% to $0.856058, Avalanche dropped 11% to $15.01, Toncoin sank 11.8% to $1.85, and Internet Computer experienced a 9.2% decline, trading at $5.16.
Bittrex, an American cryptocurrency exchange, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday. This development follows the recent charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission against the company for its failure to register as a broker-dealer, exchange, and clearing agency. The SEC also alleged that Bittrex earned illicit revenue of at least $1.3 billion between 2017 and 2022.
In March, Bittrex announced its plans to wind down its operations in the United States, citing the “current U.S. regulatory and economic environment” as the underlying reasons for this decision.
During a hearing in Washington on Wednesday, lawmakers from both the Republican and Democrat parties struggled to reach a consensus regarding the necessary level of regulation for digital assets. Their primary challenge lies in determining whether a token should be categorized as a security or a commodity. If considered a security, regulatory jurisdiction would fall under the purview of the Securities and Exchange Commission, while categorizing it as a commodity would place regulatory authority under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
On the same day, Texas lawmakers expressed strong support by voting in favor of an amendment to the state's Bill of Rights that would recognize the right of individuals to own, possess, and utilize digital currencies. However, it is important to note that this amendment still has a long way to go before becoming law. It requires approval in one more vote in the House, one in the Senate, and a popular vote.
Furthermore, on Thursday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission for its approach of regulating the digital asset industry through enforcement actions. The Chamber of Commerce submitted an amicus brief in support of Coinbase in its ongoing legal petition, urging the securities regulator to provide clear guidelines and rules for the industry.
“The SEC has deliberately muddied the waters by claiming sweeping authority over digital assets while deploying a haphazard, enforcement-based approach,” the Chamber wrote. “This regulatory chaos is by design, not happenstance.”
