Crypto
Cryptocurrency price on August 1: Bitcoin falls below $65,000; Solana, XRP drop up to 8%
Overnight, the US Federal Reserve maintained its key interest rate at 5.25–5.5% for the eighth consecutive time, as expected, while signaling the possibility of a rate cut in its next meeting in September. The Federal Open Market Committee’s unanimous decision reflects a continued wait-and-watch approach as it monitors inflation trends.
CoinSwitch Markets Desk, said, “Bitcoin fell below $65,000 after the US Federal Reserve announced it would keep interest rates unchanged. However, with markets now anticipating rate cuts in the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting in September, the outlook for a Bitcoin rally by the end of the year has strengthened.”
Crypto Tracker
Meanwhile, CoinDCX Research Team, said, “The crypto market tumbled after the Fed’s decision. Tomorrow’s U.S. unemployment rate announcement is expected to induce more volatility, with an ‘Actual’ figure greater than ‘Forecast’ being good for crypto.”At 12:21 pm IST, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading 3.2% lower at $64,285, while Ethereum fell nearly 4.5% to $3,313. Meanwhile, the global cryptocurrency market cap dropped by 3.6% to around $2.3 trillion in the last 24 hours.”Bitcoin needs to break above its 200-day EMA at $64,510 to consolidate further. Else, a retest of $62,000 may be on the cards,” said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.Altcoins and meme coins, such as BNB (3%), Solana (8%), XRP (5.7%), Dogecoin (5%), Cardano (4.6%), Avalanche (4.3%), Shiba Inu (3.8%), Polkadot (3.4%), and Chainlink (4%) also declined.The volume of all stablecoins is now $71.64 billion, which is 92.19% of the total crypto market 24-hour volume, as per data available on CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 54.99%. BTC volume in the last 24 hours rose 23.3% to $35.7 billion.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
How Indiana’s redistricting could impact the legislative session
Statehouse reporter Kayla Dwyer breaks down tensions between Indiana and the Trump administration regarding the state’s redistricting efforts.
Indiana lawmakers are hoping to make the state a cryptocurrency leader by allowing the state to invest in digital currencies like Bitcoin for state savings and retirement plans while prohibiting local communities from restricting crypto companies.
The legislation, House Bill 1042, comes as excitement grows over the once obscure digital assets that have made millionaires and wiped-out fortunes. Its supporters now include some of the country’s most powerful people, including President Donald Trump and initially hesitant financial institutions, while the first major piece of crypto legislation passed Congress earlier this year.
Now, Indiana is looking for a slice of the windfall. The topic was one of just a few to get an earlier-than-usual hearing as lawmakers consider redistricting, signaling it’s a major topic of interest among Republicans.
“Crypto policy will become a mainstay of this committee’s work for probably years to come,” said bill author Kyle Pierce, R-Anderson, at a House Financial Institutions Committee meeting Dec. 4.
A volatile investment?
Though the bill would allow public investment funds to delve into the world of digital currency, it stops short of allowing direct crypto investments.
Instead, the bill applies to cryptocurrency exchange traded funds, or EFTs — a safer, federally regulated fund that tracks crypto prices, either by holding the digital assets or a contract that speculates on prices in the future.
The state investment programs required to provide such options include the 529 education savings plan and certain retirement funds for teachers, public employees and lawmakers. It also allows other state investment funds to place their assets in crypto EFTs.
While less volatile than a direct investment, it’s not entirely without risk. Because there is less oversight in the underlying crypto market, the Securities and Exchange Commission has warned it’s difficult to prevent fraud and ensure fairness, even for EFT investors.
That was a tentative concern for Tony Green, deputy executive director of the Indiana Public Retirement System, at the House Financial Institutions Committee hearing Dec. 4.
Though neutral on the bill, Green said IPRS would want to ensure there were proper disclaimers about volatility. And while the agency wants to offer choices to their members, he said, those surveyed were generally uninterested.
No anti-crypto regulations
Another aspect of the bill limits how local governments and state agencies can regulate crypto, though Pierce said it’s only intended to ensure laws don’t unfairly target crypto.
Specifically, it would prohibit regulation of an individual or a business’ ability to accept digital currency as payment, including by taxing use of the payment method. It also stops local governments from denying crypto mining facilities in areas zoned for industrial use or applying noise restrictions specific to crypto.
There was some worry about a clause in the bill that bans a public agency from prohibiting a person’s ability to “use or accept digital assets as a method of payment for legal goods and services.”
The bill was welcomed by the founder of the local crypto mining business Megawatt.
Ilya Rekhter, who operates mining facilities in rural areas across the state, said the legislation would help prevent a sudden change in zoning laws after a business has already invested money in a facility, Rekhter said.
“We’re not asking for any special treatment,” he said, “just the same treatment.”
The committee won’t hold a vote on the bill until January.
Contact breaking politics reporter Marissa Meador at mmeador@gannett.com or follow her on X @marissa_meador.
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