This recap can't help but start with how the week began. That is, with the crash!
Bitcoin Price Drops
On Monday, Bitcoin price experienced its first significant drop during this bull market. Bitcoin's price fell from over $60,000 to below $50,000. The reason? It's hard to pinpoint just one cause. It seems there was panic. In the background, there were threats of war breaking out in the Middle East and poor labor market data from the U.S. However, these factors alone shouldn't have led to such a steep decline.
Currently, 1 BTC is trading for just over $61,000.
Will the Fed Start Cutting Interest Rates?
It's worth considering one of the factors that may have contributed to the drop. Unemployment in the U.S. increased from 4.1% in June to 4.3% in July. This could prompt the Fed to cut interest rates in September. The only question now is whether the cut will be by 25 or 50 basis points. According to the Fed Watch Tool, the probability of a larger cut is 56.5%.
Interest rate cuts should, in turn, kickstart market growth.
XRP Wins Against SEC
This week, we also learned of the verdict in the SEC vs. Ripple case. Ripple, the company behind XRP, issued the mentioned token years ago. SEC officials argued that it was an unregistered securities offering, which the company did not have authorization. The case went to court. Last year, Ripple achieved its first victory. The judge analyzed the issuance and trading of the token and determined that XRP is a security, but only when sold directly to institutional investors. Cryptocurrency exchanges are different—it is not a security.
However, the SEC did not give up. We now have the second verdict in the case. Judge Analisa Torres found that Ripple is partially guilty of violating securities regulations. However, the fine imposed was relatively low—$125 million. The company must pay this amount to the SEC within 30 days. The Securities and Exchange Commission demanded $2 billion. Hence, the verdict can be seen as a win for Ripple.
Source: storage.courtlistener.com
Crypto for Harris
It appears that the Democratic Party may be trying to improve its relationship with the cryptocurrency industry. This has led to the creation of the "Crypto for Harris" initiative.
This new group plans to organize a virtual meeting where speakers will include crypto entrepreneur Mark Cuban and SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci. In this case, the goal is likely to be to establish a dialogue with the current administration of the White House and support Kamala Harris' campaign.
Source: Fox Business