Crypto News: The Fed and the SEC Leave Cryptos Under Pressure

Key Insights:

• House Committee advances the CBDC Anti-Surveillance Act to curb surveillance threats.
• SEC amplifies its focus on crypto: exchanges, intermediates, and DeFi platforms under the radar.
• Federal Reserve’s unchanged rates signal headwinds for riskier assets, with BTC and ETH joining the NASDAQ Composite in the red.

The Wednesday Session Overview

CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act: On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee advanced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act to the Full House. Majority Whip Tom Emmer previously warned about Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) capable of being a ‘CCP-style surveillance tool that can be weaponized to oppress the American Way of life. The Act would mandate that any issuance of a CBDC receive Congressional authorization.

US Federal Reserve Sends BTC into the Red: The US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. However, upbeat revisions to the FOMC economic projections and a projected higher-for-longer interest rate environment weighed on riskier assets. The NASDAQ Composite Index fell by 1.53%, with BTC and ETH seeing losses of 0.36% and 1.31%, respectively.

SEC Warns of More Enforcement Activity: On Tuesday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced plans to take on more crypto exchanges, intermediates, and DeFi platforms. Head of the SEC Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit David Hirsch spoke at the Securities Enforcement Forum Central in Chicago, warning of more regulation by enforcement.

Crypto-Law US founder and Amicus Curiae attorney John E. Deaton responded to the comments, saying,

“Mark my word, SEC enforcement director, along with Gary Gensler and this Crypto Chief, David Hirsch, are going to lose the long game because they don’t have the most important and necessary thing on their side: the law.”

Stanford University to Return FTX Donations: Entities continue to distance themselves from FTX, Sam Bankman Fried, Joseph Bankman, and Barbara Fried. According to Bloomberg, Stanford University received $5.5 million from FTX and plans on returning the funds after entering into discussions with FTX debtors. Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried are legal scholars and professors at Stanford University.

Technical Analysis

Bitcoin Analysis

BTC broke below the 50-day and 200-day EMAs on Thursday, sending bearish price signals. The hawkish Fed interest rate decision weighed on buyer appetite for riskier assets.

A break above the 200-day and 50-day EMAs would support a BTC move to the $28,187 resistance level. However, failure to break above the EMAs would bring the $26,755 support level into play.

Beyond investor sentiment toward the Fed, Mt. Gox chatter, SEC v Ripple and Coinbase (COIN) case-related news, and BTC-spot ETF updates would also need consideration.

The 14-Daily RSI reading of 55.96 supports a BTC move to $28,000 before entering overbought territory.

Ethereum Analysis

ETH sat below the $1,626 resistance level. Significantly, ETH remained below the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, sending bearish price signals. An ETH break above the $1,626 resistance level would support an ETH move to the 50-day EMA.

ETH would need favorable crypto news to break out from $1,650.

However, failure to break above the $1,626 resistance level would leave sub-$1,600 and the $1,502 support level in play.

The 14-Daily RSI reading of 43.13 supports an ETH return to $1,600 before entering oversold territory.