Bitcoin crossed $52,000 on Wednesday after the SEC’s Chairman nominee, Gary Gensler said that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets have brought new thinking to the current financial system. BTC price is now up approximately 6% in the last 24 hours.
The world’s largest crypto asset lost nearly 20% of its value within the last week due to heavy selling pressure from retail traders. The overall market cap of cryptocurrency assets touched $1.6 trillion today.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) played a major role in the volatility of the crypto market in the past. The authority filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs in December 2020 under the supervision of Jay Clayton, the former Chairman at the SEC. The lawsuit triggered a $50 billion sell-off in the crypto market including a sharp decline in XRP, Bitcoin, and Ethereum.
Gary Gensler is Joe Biden’s nominee for the position of Chairman at the SEC. Gensler gained popularity among the crypto community because of his positive stance on Bitcoin and other digital currencies. During a discussion yesterday, Gensler supported the innovation in the current financial system through digital assets.
“Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have brought new thinking to payments and financial inclusion, but they’ve also raised new issues of investor protection. If confirmed at the SEC, I will work to promote innovation,” Gensler said.
Growing Bitcoin Popularity
Bitcoin is getting popular among institutional investors. MicroStrategy, Tesla and Square invested billions of dollars in the world’s largest crypto asset recently. The BTC price is getting a major push from leading hedge funds in the US. Daniel Loeb, Founder and CEO of New York-based hedge fund Third Point, said that he is planning to explore the world of cryptocurrencies. Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary changed his stance on Bitcoin recently and said that Bitcoin and Ethereum are part of his investment portfolio.
BTC’s total market cap now stands at around $960 billion with a market dominance of 61.2%.
