Bitcoin OG Arthur Hayes Believes The “Moon Ain’t Far Away” As BTC Bounces Higher Despite Regulatory Actions

Bitcoin shook off the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) latest enforcement actions to climb back up to as high as $27,300.13 today, according to CoinGecko. BTC recovering lost ground prompted Arthur Hayes, the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, to make a bullish prediction for the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

BTC Bulls Unfazed By New SEC Lawsuits

Cryptocurrency prices largely ticked higher over the past 24 hours despite the uptick in regulatory scrutiny that the digital assets industry has confronted recently.

Bitcoin plummeted $25,400 on Monday in the hours after the SEC unveiled a complaint against Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume. But the crypto began inching higher by the end of the day and continued its path on Tuesday even as the securities regulator initiated a second lawsuit against Binance competitor Coinbase. In so doing, BTC regained all of its lost ground, as it returned to just below $27,000, where it is trading at press time, up 4.53 percent on the day. The second most valuable crypto, ether, also rallied Wednesday to trade hands near $1,900, a 2.94 percent gain over the last 24 hours.

Analyzing the bounce, former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes stated that the “wall of worry is being climbed,” encouraging his followers to join him on the “bull market bus” for Bitcoin.

“We are still on struggle street, but the moon ain’t far away,” Hayes tweeted.

Hayes’ prediction is a sign of strong conviction in a market that has been hit hard in recent days.

SEC’s Harsh Steps Against Crypto

Crypto prices have been extremely volatile this week in the wake of news that the SEC had charged Binance and Coinbase with selling unlicensed securities in the country. Binance and the company’s chief executive officer, Changpeng Zhao, were struck with 13 civil charges by the SEC on Monday. The commission claims Binance was involved in an “extensive web of deception” by commingling customer funds. Coinbase, on the other hand, was accused of failing to register with the SEC as an exchange, clearing house, and broker.

The charges came despite the SEC’s lack of regulatory clarity on which crypto tokens qualify as securities. The SEC has not provided any formal legal definitions to token issuers and is yet to give its response to a petition from Coinbase seeking clearer rules on crypto.

That said, Binance and Coinbase have vowed to “vigorously defend” the suits against them.

In the meantime, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ordered the SEC to clarify its position on Coinbase’s rulemaking petition within one week.

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