By James Davis
On Saturday, the crypto market continued to see green as Bitcoin’s (BTC) price crossed the $20.500 mark. According to data from CoinGecko, BTC only traded this high in early November last year before dropping to $15,759 following the sudden downfall of the crypto exchange FTX.
Moreover, the wider crypto market also indicates signs of recovery, as the total market cap of the entire industry now stands at $978 billion. That represents a 3.7% increase in the past 24 hours. Additionally, the industry has recorded over $70 billion in trading volume in the past day, as per CoinGecko.
The BTC price started to rally on Monday as many anticipated the release of last month’s Consumer Price Index report by the Federal Reserve. BTC began the week priced at $17,197 and has maintained upward movement since then.
The Consumer Price Index report matched market expectations and indicated that inflation in the United States economy is slowing. This report is good news for both crypto and traditional investors. However, it comes at a time when US authorities are putting regulatory pressure on crypto.
Could Regulatory Pressure Affect the BTC Price?
The US lawmakers are now more focused on the crypto industry following the recent events involving FTX and its executives. The exchange then-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried got arrested last month in The Bahamas and now faces eight criminal charges, including campaign finance violations and wire fraud.
Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission has continued to scrutinize the crypto space, bringing new charges against big players in the industry. For example, the Commission leveled charges against crypto broker Genesis and crypto exchange Gemini just yesterday.
In its filing, the Commission cited that the two crypto players violated securities laws by offering an ‘Earn’ product that guaranteed investors yield on their crypto deposits. Furthermore, yesterday, US House Republicans revealed plans for a subcommittee devoted to crypto, as per Politico.
BTC is Down Over 70% From Its ATH Despite Recent Upward Moves
While the BTC rally has many crypto enthusiasts celebrating, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap is still 72% lower than its all-time high of $69,120. It remains to be seen whether BTC will carry on with the momentum in the coming days. CoinGecko data shows that BTC has risen by 10.9% in the past 24 hours.