Bitcoin declined on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve decided to maintain interest rates unchanged and its indication that rate cuts might be delayed. Additionally, Bitcoin’s downward movement was influenced by a mixed launch of investment products tracking the world’s top cryptocurrency and rival ether in Hong Kong.

At 12.02 pm IST, Bitcoin was down 3.3% at $57,629, while Ethereum dropped by 1.5% to $2,920.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell late on Wednesday said a rate hike was unlikely, but reiterated that a rate cut would be considered only if inflation in the economy eased further.Edul Patel, CEO of Mudrex, said, “Bitcoin trades at $57,000 mark in the past 24 hours following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain its benchmark interest rate between 5.25% and 5.50%. Since late February, Bitcoin has experienced a downward trend, largely influenced by macroeconomic conditions and geopolitical uncertainties. The next support level lies at the $56,600 level and the resistance is at $58,800 level.Meanwhile, Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus Crypto Platform, said, “Bitcoin registered a significant decline, dropping 4% today in response to macro and ecosystem developments. The move comes as Binance founder CZ received a 4-month prison sentence in the US, while the launch of spot ETFs in Hong Kong failed to excite investors.”The global cryptocurrency market cap declined by 2.4% to around $2.16 trillion in the last 24 hours.Other major crypto tokens such as BNB (-3.2%), Dogecoin (-3%), Toncoin (-4%), Shiba Inu (-0.2%), NEAR Protocol (-2.2%), and Uniswap (-0.5%) also fell. On the other hand, Solana, XRP, Cardano, and Polkadot surged up to 5%.

The volume of all stablecoins is now $98.61 billion, which is 92.67% of the total crypto market 24-hour volume, as per data available on CoinMarketCap.

In the last 24 hours, the market cap of Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, fell to $1.132 trillion. Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 52.53%, according to CoinMarketCap. BTC volume in the last 24 hours rose 29.5% to $49.6 billion.

“Technically, BTC is now more than 20% down from its all-time high. It’s currently testing support at $57,000, and a drop below that could lead to a further decline to the $52,000-$53,000 range, with no significant support in between. Similarly, ETH needs to hold above $2,900; otherwise, it may drop to the $2,700 level,” said CoinDCX Research Team.

Despite the downturn, the ETH/BTC pair remains strong, indicating relative strength in some altcoins, with a few even showing gains amidst BTC’s decline, although most are in the red, CoinDCX said.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers on Wednesday gave final approval to new restrictions on cryptocurrency mining operations after facing backlash for limiting local governments’ ability to regulate them last year.

The majority-Republican House overwhelmingly approved the Senate-backed measures, sending them to GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ desk. The bills were among the few non-budget issues on the agenda for a legislative session lawmakers expect to wrap up Thursday.

The bills are intended to address complaints about a law passed last year on cryptocurrency mines, which are data centers requiring large amounts of computing power and electricity. Local officials and residents who live near the operations complained that last year’s law interfered with addressing complaints about the mines’ noise and impact on the community.

The measures require the facilities to apply noise-reduction techniques, and requires crypto mining businesses to get a permit from the state to operate. It also removes portions of the 2023 law that limited local governments’ ability to enact measures regulating the sound decibels generated by the facilities.

“Let’s do what we can to help those who have been impacted in a negative way, and work for better solutions,” Republican Rep. Rick McClure said before the vote.

Sponsors of the measure have described the bills as a stop-gap until lawmakers return for next year’s regular session and take up more comprehensive changes.

The legislation also prohibits businesses and individuals from several countries, including China, from owning crypto mining operations in the state.

Democratic Rep. Andrew Collins, who voted against both bills, said he was concerned about the way that limit was worded and the impact it could have on foreign investment.

“We’re casting a net that is both too wide and too narrow,” Collins said during a committee hearing on the bills Tuesday. “It’s going to catch people up who are totally innocent, and it’s going to miss a lot of people who are either home-grown or are from countries not on this list.”

Lawmakers passed the legislation as the House and Senate gave initial approval to bills detailing the state’s $6.3 billion budget for the coming year. Both chambers are expected to give final approval to that legislation Thursday.

Sanders plans to sign the crypto mining bills into law, her office said.

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