A Bitcoin price crash is happening with its marketcap receding from yesterday’s 542.46B to 536.97 B. This drop is off 1.01% from yesterday and -4.24% from a year ago.
Bitcoin market cap
The total Bitcoin marketcap as recorded on May 30, 2023, (536.97B) is down by 1.01% from the value recorded the previous day. This drop can be attributed to the continuous fall in crypto prices throughout May 2023. The coin’s market cap on May 04, 2023, was around 565.10B, 28.13B more than the values recorded today.
Bitcoin Price
Though Bitcoin’s market cap is down today, its price has not moved by much, it has recorded a 0.25% drop in the past 24 hours. It also has a price rise of 1.96% in the past seven days and a 24-hour transaction volume of around 451K BTC worth $12.564B.
However, this trading volume is a drop of 23.01% from what was recorded 24 hours ago pushing the coin’s market dominance to 46.53%.
Bitcoin’s Fear and greed index
Crypto Fear and Greed index is a chart that uses social signals and market trends to determine the overall sentiment surrounding an asset in the crypto market. It’s called an index because it tracks multiple data sources and combines them to come up with a final figure that is representative of the whole market.
During the time of writing, Bitcoin’s Fear and Greed Index was at 51, neutral. That means both bears and bulls have almost equivalent power to push the price foreshadowing a sideways market in the short term (next hours of the day).
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily transaction volume, has promoted Binance Singapore CEO Richard Teng to oversee all regional markets apart from the U.S. The exchange seeks to increase its international presence as it continually faces scrutiny from U.S. regulators over compliance issues.
Binance Singapore CEO Richard Teng to be a regional executive
Teng revealed his promotion via his LinkedIn profile, saying it’s an honor to serve in that capacity as he has already been heading regions like Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, fulfilling him to serve the company duly.
Teng joined the company in 2021 as the Singaporean branch’s CEO and has since been crucial to the company’s international markets dominance plans. He will now be tasked to ensure the maturity of their business in different regions worldwide but not in the U.S., where they are receiving heavy regulatory objections.
The move by the exchange to increase its international presence comes shortly after its confirmed departure from Canadian markets and cancellation of its financial services license in Australia.
Teng previously worked in various financial institutions like Singapore Exchange Ltd, Abu Dhabi Global Market, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and will now be a strategic executive for the exchange’s push to connect different regions via crypto technology.
Keep watching Fintech Express for updates on this and other Fintech-related stories.
Crypto regulation in Indonesia has taken a new turn as Bali Governor issues a stern warning to tourists who are using crypto assets as substitutes for money in the country. He hosted a press conference on May 28 explaining that the crypto remains illegal in the country and that those who use it as means of payment will be dealt with firmly including tourists.
Crypto regulation becomes more sensitive in Indonesia
While other countries are working on crypto regulation frameworks to foster innovation, Indonesia is joining a group of the ones that take digital assets as economic threats. The Bank of Indonesia Governor Wayan Koster has asserted that the nation will not loosen its laws regarding crypto usage.
He explained that there will be a range of penalties for tourists who will be caught using cryptos including deportation, administrative sanctions, penalties, closure of their business premises, and further legal actions depending on the gravity of the situation.
The press conference was attended by Bali’s Chief Police Inspector and the head of the Bali Representative Office for the Bank of Indonesia, Trisno Nugroho. Nugroho however reaffirmed that crypto trading in the country is still allowed but the usage of crypto as a means of payment is banned and thus punishable by law.
Koster noted that the only legal means of payment in the country is the Rupiah with the use of all other forms of payment being considered against the law and carrying a maximum sentence of one year in prison or a fine of 200 million Rupiah ($13,000)
This news comes at a controversial time as there are already 37 businesses in Bali that accept crypto. Also, Indonesia was planning to launch a crypto exchange in 2022 but the plan was not successful as it was hit by delays.
Argentina, one of the countries struggling with the highest inflation rates currently, is planning to expand its plans to de-couple from the U.S. dollar. The Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, will enter into talks with China to expand the current swap line from $5 billion to $10 billion lent in Chinese Yuan.
BRICS gets a boost as more countries seek to stay away from the U.S. dollar
BRICS nations keep getting more support from second and third-tier countries as they push to de-couple from the struggling and ‘normally’ weaponized U.S. Dollar. Recently, China and Russia revealed plans to expedite the in-development international transaction system that will use a BRICS digital common currency to help them trade with other nations without using the U.S. dollar.
In other news, 25 more countries are actively seeking to join them as the U.S. dollar remains in a crisis of the country’s own making; now, Argentina wants to increase its alliance with China and reduce its dependence on the U.S. dollar. The Argentinian Economy Minister will travel to China on May 29 on a mission to double the free amount of money available in the swap line taking it to $10B.
China had allowed the nation to access $5B freely, which almost $2B has already been used in May and April, leaving it with lower reserves while the credit line amounts to almost $19B. Massa will seek to lead the two countries into an agreement on “political terms,” which is set to see the credit line expanded.
Argentina’s U.S. dollar reserves dropping as IMF charges harder
Argentina faces a significant decrease in its foreign currency reserves recording levels last seen last seven years ago. The dollar-denominated reserves in the country are down to $36B in May, which keeps getting worse as the country faces an inflation rate of 108%.
Argentina has been forced to impose hard measures to cut the rate at which the dollars flow from the local economy. It is also seeking to renegotiate terms with the International Monetary Fund to hasten the disbursements of the institution, which is set to be received between June and December.
However, the country’s Vice President Cristina Kirchner is calling to ditch the repayment deal, risking future disbursements from the fund. In a rally, she said that if the country doesn’t figure out how to get its financial independence and do away with the loans that come with conditions and controls from international funds, it will cripple the nation even more, making them unable to repay the debts.
Her comments come when reports about IMF imposing conditions that take away financial freedom from the Latin-America nation are surfacing. There have been reports that the IMF wants the country to ban the use of digital currencies, among other demands to receive their support.
The U.S. economy gets a fighting chance as the debt ceiling may bear fruit soon as Speaker McCarthy and President Biden are set to reach common ground next week to save the country from an imminent debt default.
Speaker McCarthy to work over the weekend as U.S. economy debt ceiling talks set to continue next week
The U.S. House of Representatives speaker McCarthy is set to recheck his ultimatums and demands over the weekend as the urgent talks to raise the U.S. debt ceiling have only seven days before the nation faces an imminent threat of debt default, which could be the first-ever event.
The negotiators appeared to move closer to a deal on Thursday, but the coming week has been flagged as the most crucial and delicate part of the talk for both sides. Onlookers have advised that both sides of discussions must keep the best interests of the U.S. economy in heart as a debt default would be catastrophic to citizens and the same spending rate would also be unsustainable
“We’re at a sensitive phase, with sensitive issues that remain. Those sensitive issues are the thorniest issues that we’ve been discussing,” Republican negotiator Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday. “Everybody’s trying to do a fine job of figuring out the finer details of this, but nothing’s done.”
At the White House, President Biden seems cautiously optimistic about the situation, saying:
“The only way to move forward is with a bipartisan agreement, and I believe we’ll come to an agreement that allows us to move forward and protects the hardworking Americans of this country by resuscitating the U.S economy.”
A sense of urgency clouded Thursday’s talks after Fitch warned that a debt default by the U.S. would be catastrophic to its credit ratings. On Wednesday, Fitch said it would place the U.S. triple-A status on “rating watch negative.”
It also added that if Congress did not reach an agreement before the Treasury’s June 1 deadline to raise or suspend the debt limit, it would have no other choice but downgrade the country’s credit rating. Speaker McCarthy’s critics have also not been silent about the matter, as 35 of the most vocal ones in the House GOP released a letter urging him to abandon the current talks and issue more befitting demands.
These critics want the speaker to take advantage of the ongoing talks and secure more concessions from the White House, including an immigration bill and discrediting of Treasury leaders, particularly Secretary Janet Yellen.
— House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) May 25, 2023
U.S. and China top commerce officials meet for trade discussions
The U.S.Commerce department has had discussions with China over trade concerns due to the recent spate of actions taken against the U.S. companies operating in China. The Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, held a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao in Washing D.C. on Thursday to deliberate on matters surrounding the two nations’ bilateral trade.
The two leaders’ meeting marks the first time the Commerce executives met at a cabinet-level exchange between the two countries in months. An after report by the Commerce Department states that they had substantive discussions on their cooperation and areas of opportunities and potential collaboration.
“The two had candid and substantive discussions on issues relating to the U.S.-China commercial relationship, including the overall environment in both countries for trade and investment and areas for potential cooperation.”
Raimondo also “raised concerns about the recent spate of PRC [People’s Republic of China] actions taken against U.S. companies operating in the PRC,” the report said.
The bilateral exchange comes when nations observe how the U.S. economy will overcome its crisis and handle international bipartisan control as its relations with some world powers like China continue to sour.
The Asian nation has joined with others to build the BRICS trading block that is now fast-tracking the release of a new payment system and currency that will reduce dependence on the U.S. dollar. The Group of Seven takes that step with seriousness as they want to do away with Chinese supply chains.
This Group of Seven leaders met Hiroshima over the weekend, vowing to “de-risk and diversify” from Chinese reliance. They are claiming that Beijing’s practices are fond of distorting the global economy.”
The BRICS nations have been working around the clock to de-couple from the already straining US dollar. 25 more countries are seeking to join hands with them in similar interests, which put the U.S. economy on the loose ground as the world’s reserve currency.
However, only time will tell how the U.S. debt talks will go, their effects on the U.s. economy, and the pull away from an already more resilient Chinese economy will go. Keep watching Fintech Express for updates on world economics and other related stories.
