Bitcoin (BTC) price reclaimed the $30,000 support on April 18 after briefly testing $29,130 on the previous day. However, traders question whether the recovery is sustainable given the increased regulatory scrutiny, especially in the United States.
Rostin Behnam, the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said on April 14 that Binance intentionally broke U.S. rules concerning futures and commodities trading. For example, knowingly allowing U.S. citizens to participate on the exchange through the use of obfuscation tools. The comments stem from the CFTC’s March 27 lawsuit against Binance and its CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao for alleged trading violations.
Also on April 14, in an open meeting with U.S. Securities and Exchange commissioners and staff, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said the agency will be revisiting the proposed redefinition of an “exchange”. The SEC intends to bring certain brokers under additional regulatory scrutiny, and explicitly include decentralized applications.
On April 17, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged crypto asset trading platform Bittrex and former CEO William Shihara for operating an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. Separately, Bittrex Global is being charged for operating a shared order book with Bittrex.
Bittrex had already announced its intention of closing down U.S. operations on April 30 after reportedly receiving a Wells Notice in March warning about the impending regulatory action.
Other countries are taking different approaches
The regulatory environment in Hong Kong seems to have improved after China’s state-affiliated banks began to onboard crypto companies. In addition to the Bank of Communications, ZA Bank — Hong Kong’s largest virtual bank controlled by a Chinese internet insurer — will also act as the settlement bank for some crypto companies.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, these banks will serve as settlement banks to enable token deposits at authorized exchanges to be withdrawn in Hong Kong dollars, Chinese yuan and U.S. dollars.
The securities regulator of Argentina also approved a Bitcoin-based futures index on April 12. The regulated derivatives contract will offer qualified investors a safe and regulated way to gain BTC exposure. All trades will be settled in the national fiat currency, with traders required to deposit Argentine pesos through bank transfer.
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