This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy.
While Bitcoin exited its macro downturn toward the end of the first quarter of 2023, the world's premier cryptocurrency has yet to embark on its customary bull run ahead of the much-anticipated halving event in the second quarter of 2024, with the broader crypto sphere continuing to get hammered by the SEC's newfound zeal to the bring the entire sector under its domain.
#BTC has only retraced -19% since its mid-April local top
With all the negative catalysts and FUD, one would've instinctively felt that the retrace was so much deeper than that$BTC #Crypto #bitcoin
— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) June 14, 2023
Do note that Bitcoin is now down around 19 percent relative to its mid-April local high, as widespread profit-taking unleashed the initial wave of weakness that was then buffeted by the volatility quakes emanating from the SEC's proactive stance against the vast majority of cryptocurrencies.
Total #Crypto Market Cap digs deeper into green
Even still, there is scope for more downside in an effort to convincingly retest this old resistance into new support
And if the retest is volatile enough, more downside of -8% from current levels could occur$BTC #BTC #bitcoin https://t.co/YgrJrJomdy pic.twitter.com/PhxeQBOQ5r
— Rekt Capital (@rektcapital) June 13, 2023
Against this backdrop, the market capitalization of the entire crypto sphere can fall below the $1 trillion mark as the path of least resistance now points toward a sector-wide market cap of $937.609 billion.
Currently, Bitcoin makes up 45.8 percent of the crypto sphere's market cap. Assuming that the sector's market capitalization touches the $937 billion level highlighted above, it would correspond to a theoretical price of $22,135 (based on 19.40 million coins in circulation) for one Bitcoin, provided that all else remains equal.
Meanwhile, the SEC continues to wage a two-pronged battle against the crypto sector heavyweights, with wide-ranging ramifications for Bitcoin and other tokens. A few days back, the SEC lobbed 13 charges against Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), accusing the world's largest crypto exchange of allowing high-net-worth individuals in the US to access Binance's offshore services, comingling of customer and corporate assets and funds, wash trading via affiliated entities, lack of KYC, and outright embezzlement on the part of Binance's CEO. Additionally, the apex financial regulator in the US has declared some of the most popular tokens as "unregistered securities," thereby attempting to bring the entire crypto sphere under its own jurisdiction.
Simultaneously, the SEC has filed a separate lawsuit against Coinbase, accusing the crypto exchange of operating an "unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency."
It sounds like the hearing in SEC v @Binance went even worse for the SEC than I had heard.
According to @Coindesk, the Judge "hammered the SEC attorneys" about their intransigence on the freeze order.
The Judge was also "frustrated" by the SEC's inability to answer the simple… https://t.co/rcieyHk9mP
— MetaLawMan (@MetaLawMan) June 14, 2023
In recent days, however, the SEC has faced somewhat of a setback in courts, which has played an important role in staving off a deeper plunge in the price of Bitcoin. First, the judge overseeing the SEC's case against Binance refused to order a temporary restraining order against the exchange's assets, noting that "there's absolutely no need" for such a step. The judge was "frustrated" by the SEC's inability to plainly answer whether assets of US customers had been transferred abroad. Moreover, the judge referred the SEC and Binance to a magistrate judge to hash out a compromise that would preclude a complete shutdown of the exchange.
A few minutes ago, the SEC filed its response to the last week's Third Circuit. You can read it for yourself below together with my own initial read of it. 1/5
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) June 13, 2023
As for Coinbase, do note that the American exchange had sued the SEC to force the regulator to define what exactly constitutes a security. Despite a clear-cut order from the court to provide the needed clarity, the SEC continues to maintain that it hasn't made any decision on new crypto rules and that it would not commit to a specific deadline for drafting such regulations.
The SEC’s filing was borderline disrespectful to the Court.
Their response to the Order was to re-argue why the writ of mandamus should not issue.
That wasn’t the Court’s question.
They then say the staff might recommend whether to start a rulemaking process—in 6 MONTHS.
The SEC…— MetaLawMan (@MetaLawMan) June 14, 2023
Some legal experts are, of course, not taking kindly to these shenanigans on the part of the SEC. Given the current acrimonious atmosphere, analysts continue to expect further weakness for Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto sphere.
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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