Bitcoin (BTC) still faces resistance below $40,000 as traders weigh aftermath of EU cryptocurrency legislation and rate hikes this week from the Fed.Read MoreFeedzy
The Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), the most comprehensive digital assets legislation to date, included a provision that would limit proof-of-work mining. The provision, however, failed to materialize and will be left out of the bill.
BTC, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was changing hands at $38,700 at press time and is roughly flat over the past 24 hours.
“There are bullish and bearish catalysts on the horizon, but short-term risks are dominant,” Marcus Sotiriou, an analyst at GlobalBlock, said in an email to CoinDesk.
Inflation remains among the top concerns for traders in both crypto and traditional markets. Bitcoin, often thought of as a hedge against inflation, is underperforming liquid assets like gold so far this year.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to begin raising rates on Wednesday as energy and food prices continue to soar. The consumer price index (CPI), the popular measure of inflation in the U.S., reached a four-decade high in February.
Other popular cryptocurrencies like ether (ETH) and Solana’s SOL token are both down about 2% over the past 24 hours.
DISCLOSURE
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.
