Crypto wrap: Cryptocurrency in Parliament; Bitcoin's surge to 18-month high

This week, in reply to a question in the Parliament in the ongoing Winter Session, the Centre revealed that as many as 28 Virtual Digital Assets service providers have registered themselves with FIU

Cryptocurrency saw a bull run in the last one week on the back of optimism around Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF). Bitcoin rose 12.5 per cent in the last seven days and was trading at $43,387 on Friday, according to CoinMarketCap. Ethereum rose 12.7 per cent and was trading at $2,356. During the week, Bitcoin rose to $44,000 for the first time in 18 months.

"Blackrock's spot ETF application received its announced $100,000 seed funding, fueling speculation of an approval, which further boosted the broader markets, resulting in an overall Crypto market cap reaching almost $1.6 trillion," said Parth Chaturvedi, investments lead, CoinSwitch Ventures.

"For the broader crypto markets, it was a sea of green as the rising tide of Bitcoin lifted all boats, with token-specific developments yielding outsized returns. In the large Caps, Solana's surged past $70, driven by increasing network activity and Total Value Locked (TVL), while the Solana ecosystem's airdrops started strongly with JITO!," Chaturvedi added.

Moreover, in reply to a question in Parliament during the ongoing Winter Session, the Centre revealed that as many as 28 virtual digital assets (VDA) or crypto service providers have registered themselves with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

In the past two days, however, the crypto market saw minor correction. Experts suggest it may be due to profit booking.

"In the past day, BTC encountered a dip to $43,000 during the day, pulling back from its swift ascent to nearly $45,000 earlier this week. This suggests that traders opted to secure profits after the largest crypto's breakout from $38,000 a week ago," said the research team of crypto exchange CoinDCX.

"While these patterns aren't uncommon, the possibility of a bull trap has started creeping into the market. This could also possibly usher in short selling in the coming days unless investors continue to persist till ETF approvals come in," said Rajagopal Menon, vice president at WazirX.

Shivam Thakral, chief executive officer of BuyUcoin suggested that the current market momentum is expected to be sustained owing to positive global macroeconomic factors.