Bitcoin dives to $28,500; Coinbase gets US futures approval – Crypto News – Crypto News
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Bitcoin dives to US$28,500; Coinbase buoyed by US futures approval; Fed minutes cast shadow over equities Bitcoin dives to US$28,500; Coinbase buoyed by US futures approval; Fed minutes cast shadow over equities

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Bitcoin dives to $28,500; Coinbase gets US futures approval – Crypto News

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Bitcoin and Ether fell on Thursday morning in Asia, along with other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptos. Bitcoin briefly dipped below $28,500, while Ether’s losses took it below the psychologically important $1,800 threshold. Smaller altcoins such as Dogecoin, Solana and Ripple suffered the biggest drops. In more bullish news, Coinbase Global received approval to offer crypto futures to U.S. retail investors. The Forkast 500 NFT Index was down, although market sentiment remains positive amid a prolonged increase in global transactions. U.S. equity futures traded mixed after another day of losses Wednesday. The release of the minutes for July’s Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates has cast a shadow over equities, the mood music now suggesting a prolonged period of elevated rates or even another hike.

Another down day for crypto

Bitcoin fell 0.95% in the last 24 hours to US$28,551.83 as of 9:00 a.m. in Hong Kong, after briefly falling below the $28,500 threshold earlier in the morning. The largest crypto by market capitalization logged a weekly loss of 3.51%, according to CoinMarketCap data

Ether also lost 1.80% to US$1,794.91 — below the psychologically important $1,800 level — for a 3.28% drop in the past seven days.

All other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies were down. Dogecoin was the biggest loser among the top 10, dropping 5.01% to US$0.06731 for a weekly loss of 10.07%. Solana followed in terms of losses, dipping 4.25% to US$22.83. The token fell 5.98% in the past week.

“Larger currencies have seen less pressure than smaller altcoins,” wrote Alex Kuptsikevich, senior market analyst at London-based online brokerage FxPro, in an emailed statement. 

“Rising U.S. Treasury yields put pressure on riskier assets,” Kuptsikevich explained.

The losses arrive in the midst of more positive news for the crypto market. 

On Wednesday, Coinbase Global — the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. — announced that it has received approval from the National Futures Association to offer crypto futures to U.S. retail investors. Previously, only institutional customers could trade crypto futures on the platform.

Coinbase called it a “watershed moment,” celebrating the win despite facing securities violation charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

“They now have an approved, compliant [Futures Commission Merchant status] and they understand the nuances of crypto markets,” wrote Chris Perkins, president and managing partner at New York-based investment advisor CoinFund. 

“It’s an important step forward in cultivating deep, liquid derivative markets — which are very much needed. This should be very good for Coinbase, and excellent for crypto markets,” Perkins added.

Ripple’s XRP token also lost 3.66% to US$0.5862, posting a weekly loss of 8.08%. On July 13, Ripple appeared to score a victory in its ongoing legal battle with the SEC. A New York court ruled that the sale of XRP on public exchanges does not violate securities laws.

However, that aspect of the case is again under scrutiny as, on Aug. 9, the SEC asked for a review of the ruling — contributing to the downward pressure on XRP’s price.

The total crypto market capitalization moved down 1.47% in the past 24 hours to US$1.14 trillion, while trading volume rose 13.64% to US$33.76 billion.

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