Illustration by Mitchell Preffer for Decrypt.
Cryptocurrency prices held steady over the last seven days. Bitcoin (BTC) was steady at $26,569, while Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 2.8% to $1,592. Among the forty biggest cryptocurrencies, only Chainlink experienced a notable increase of 12%.
Toncoin (TON) was up by 31% on Wednesday, as news of Telegram’s integration of a TON self-custodial wallet into the messaging app circulated. However, the rally cooled off by the weekend, leaving the coin 3.7% up at $2.33.
The Fed’s policy meeting, which concluded with no new interest rate hikes, helped stabilize crypto prices. Additionally, the banking giant Citigroup launched a digital token service and PayPal announced that Venmo users will be able to purchase the company’s Ethereum-based stablecoin PYUSD soon.
Politically, the former chair of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK revealed that the FCA faced “political pressure” to accept some of the 43 crypto firms operating in the country. The FCA also urged British crypto companies to register with existing financial promotions legislation. In the US, the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, proposed by Congressman Tom Emmer, to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have also expressed their opposition to CBDCs.
