Bitcoin Decline Extends, Market Awaits SEC Decision

The U.S. Treasury will be holding a hearing on virtual currencies and the role of U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on 6th February, 218. Meanwhile, Bitcoin price has fallen to below $8,000 on Friday, which is a fall of almost 60 percent from its record high of more than $19,000 in December 2017.

This meeting will be witnessed by Jay Clayton, chairman of the SEC, and J. Christopher Giancarlo, chairman of the CFTC. The decline has come after this meeting is scheduled to meet before the Senate Banking Committee.

The regulators in countries including India, China and South Korea have already cautioned the investors about the cryptocurrency market over concerns about fraud and volatility, among other issues.

Groundwork laid down by the Regulators for Cryptocurrency

The major problem faced by the regulators is the legal standard for defining a security, which was set, more than 70 years ago in a Supreme Court Case called SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. However, the legal definition has not been tested much in the years since, as per Clyde Tinnen, who is a partner in the corporate team at Withers Bergman.

Some groundwork has already been laid by the regulators. The CFTC has approved the listing of bitcoin futures and the SEC has warned the investors about the dangers of ICOs and cryptocurrencies. Therefore in the meeting it will be discussed how to manage the balance between the positives of cryptocurrencies and regulators’ mandate to protect the investors.

However, since both SEC and CFTC have full power to regulate certain aspects of cryptocurrencies, it is expected that they will unlikely ask the Senate for any additional legislative tools.

Bitcoin in Upcoming G20 Summit

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have entered the spotlight among investors during the last week’s World Economic Forum (WEF) 2018, where the senior politicians from various major economies have stated their intention to increase the legislative interaction. Further, an international effort on crypto regulation has received support from the countries like France, Germany and others. Therefore, the stage is set for a major discussion during the G20 Summit in Argentina in March 2018.

Overall, 6^th February Meet is part of efforts to bring cryptocurrencies under a regulatory control and also to protect the investors’ interests. There are a lot of steps needed to be taken, which will be discussed during the G20 Summit in Argentina in March 2018.