The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Atkins, stated that the latest regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies proposed by the agency will be advanced in conjunction with the CLARITY Act that is about to enter the Senate voting process. This statement, made on the eve of the vote on September 15th, has once again made the path of cryptocurrency legislation and regulation in the United States a focus of the market.
SEC states that legislation is more sustainable
Atkins said that SEC's current approach is not to replace congressional legislation, but to first initiate a public opinion collection process to prepare for the subsequent formal formulation of rules. If the bill is ultimately passed by Congress and submitted to the President for signature, SEC will be able to advance the implementation of the supporting rules more quickly.
He also stated that even if Congress fails to advance the relevant legislation, SEC still believes that they have certain regulatory authority under the existing legal framework and can proceed with regulatory arrangements on their own. However, he also emphasized that such a approach is not as stable as legislation.
According to him, if we rely solely on the authority of regulatory agencies, relevant rules may still be modified or revoked after future changes in the commission; whereas laws passed by Congress are more sustainable. Atkins also mentioned that in the past few years, many crypto innovation and financing activities have shifted to regions outside of the United States, and the U.S. hopes to keep these related businesses within its domestic legal framework.
Bitcoin falls back to around $77,000
While regulatory expectations are heating up, mainstream crypto assets have seen a pullback after the previous round of gains. Bitcoin, which recently rose from above $63,000 to over $80,000, has now fallen back to around $77,000, with a daily decline of about 1.3%. Reports mention that selling in the global bond market has put pressure on risk assets.
The market is also observing changes in volatility. Analysts mention that after a rapid rise, the 4-hour Bollinger Bands of Bitcoin have narrowed, indicating a significant cooling down in short-term fluctuations. The current market is still focusing on the resistance level around $79,500.
XRP ETF inflows continue to attract attention
Apart from price fluctuations, the interest of institutional funds in XRP remains a focal point for the market. Reports indicate that US spot XRP ETF attracted approximately $105 million in net inflows during the week of August 24, which is equivalent to about 73.2 million XRP, indicating that the demand for funds has not significantly weakened due to short-term corrections.
On the Ethereum front, market views are more cautious. Some analysts believe that after the initial rise of ETH, it may first fall back to the range of $2100 to $2220 before looking for support; others argue that if buying interest appears earlier, prices could rebound briefly at a higher level.
Overall, prior to the vote on September 15th by CLARITY Act, there was no clear consensus in the signals from U.S. regulators or market trends. On one hand, SEC expressed a willingness to advance regulations, while on the other hand, mainstream assets entered a consolidation phase. The expected short-term corrections in capital flows of XRP ETF as well as BTC and ETH also contributed to a divided market sentiment.
