- The week began with Bitcoin’s price at $26,190 on August 21 Monday. Compared to the previous week, the market experienced a calmer period. Bitcoin showed a decline this week, dropping to $25,300.
- On the final day of the week, Friday, August 25, the US Treasury Department proposed treating all crypto exchanges and payment processors as brokers for crypto tax reporting purposes.
- In a report released by Pantera Capital, it was mentioned that Bitcoin’s price could rise up to $148,000 after the halving event.
Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market are leaving behind a challenging week: What will happen in the critical week ahead? SEC’s ETF decisions are the focal point!
What Happened in the Past Week?
The week began with Bitcoin’s price at $26,190 on August 21 Monday. Compared to the previous week, the market experienced a calmer period. Bitcoin showed a decline this week, dropping to $25,300, and the highest level reached was $26,819. Currently, BTC is trading at $26,065. While there were volatile movements, significant changes were not witnessed this week.
On August 21 Monday, the crypto world remained relatively calm, and on August 22 Tuesday, a decision from a US court was expected regarding the Grayscale – SEC case, which did not materialize.
On August 23 Wednesday, the FBI issued a warning about North Korean hackers possibly selling $40 million worth of Bitcoin. Later, Binance Labs announced an investment in Pendle Finance. Additionally, Solana Pay announced an integration with Shopify. Coinbase, the largest exchange in the US, announced the delisting of coins like BarnBridge (BOND), DerivaDAO (DDX), Jupiter (JUP), Multichain (MULTI), Ooki (OOKI), and Voyager (VGX).
On August 24 Thursday, Pantera Capital, the world’s largest crypto hedge fund, published a report suggesting that Bitcoin’s price could rise up to $148,000 after the halving event. On the same day, Mastercard announced the discontinuation of the Binance crypto card service in Brazil, Colombia, Bahrain, and Argentina. Also, Oman Sultanate announced a $1.1 billion investment in Bitcoin mining.
August 24 Thursday was not limited to these developments alone. A critical piece of news at the end of the day was disappointing for investors. Suspected activity was observed in the contract addresses of PEPE, and it was revealed that the required wallet approvals for transfers from main accounts in the multi-signature contract were reduced from 5 to 2. Following this news, an announcement was made from PEPE’s official X account, revealing that three members of the PEPE team sold $15 million worth of PEPE and left the project. The remaining team member transferred the remaining PEPE tokens to a secure wallet.
On the last day of the week, Friday, August 25, the US Treasury Department proposed treating all crypto exchanges and payment processors as brokers for crypto tax reporting purposes. On Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell spoke at the Jackson Hole Symposium, emphasizing the fight against inflation and indicating that they will raise interest rates when necessary. Following this speech, Bitcoin’s volatility increased, even dropping below $25,800, but quickly recovered and settled above $26,000 again.
What Lies Ahead for the Next Week?
The upcoming week is highly critical, especially for the crypto world and Bitcoin. There are no critical events on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, August 30, the US will release its Q2 GDP growth data. On Thursday, August 31, the last day of August, Personal Income and Outlays data will be released in the US. On Friday, the final day of the week, the US Unemployment Rate and Nonfarm Payrolls data will be released. These are just some of the significant economic developments. And then there is the other side of the coin: SEC’s decisions regarding Bitcoin ETF applications.
Weekly Economic Calendar!
This week will be one of the most important weeks for the #Bitcoin and #cryptocurrency world. ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/gbPMdWREjE
— CO NEWS (@coinotagen) August 27, 2023
As seen in the image, there are ETF decisions scheduled for September 1 and September 2. Six companies’ spot Bitcoin ETF applications will be considered. However, there’s an important detail: September 2 falls on a Saturday, so SEC might announce its decision for all ETFs on Friday, September 1 – a similar event has occurred before.
As this is the initial decision process for these ETF applications, the SEC can approve, deny, or delay them. Generally, the market expectation is a delay decision. SEC has the authority to postpone these ETF applications until March 2024, but they will ultimately have to make a decision.”
