Crypto wrap: Market remained in green despite rate hikes by Fed, BoE

Another major development in the crypto world during the week was the US Securities and Exchange Commission's 'Wells notice' to crypto exchange Coinbase

The crypto market remained in the green last week despite rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and the Bank of England. Both the central banks hiked their benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) to contain inflation. Despite that, the crypto market cap was up from $1.14 trillion on March 17 to $1.17 on Friday.

Bitcoin was up 5 per cent and was trading at $28,051, according to CoinMarketCap. Ethereum was up 2.7 per cent and was at $1,788 on Friday.

"Throughout this week, Bitcoin has remained mostly above the $28,000 level. It initially started by trading above this mark over the weekend and surged ahead of the US Federal Reserve's FOMC meeting on interest rates. However, after the announcement, its value fell to $27,000. Nevertheless, on Thursday, it quickly bounced back as investors rallied, pushing its value back up to over $28,000," said Alankar Saxena, CTO and co-founder of crypto firm Mudrex.

"Last week witnessed a continuation of the decoupling between crypto and traditional finance, as crypto asset prices marched higher even as US Regional banks were severely affected and European giant Credit Suisse was saved via a merger with UBS. In another major macro development, the Fed raised interest rates by another 25 bps causing a short rally in stocks and some selling pressure on Bitcoin. But over the week, broader Crypto markets rose sharply with Bitcoin leading the charge and passing the crucial $28,000 mark," said Parth Chaturvedi, crypto ecosystem lead at crypto exchange CoinSwitch.

Also Read: US serves notice to Coinbase for allegedly breaking securities laws

Another major development in the crypto world during the week was the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) notice to crypto exchange Coinbase. It was given the "Wells notice" regarding an undefined portion of its listed digital assets, staking service Coinbase Earn, Coinbase Prime, and Coinbase Wallet after a "cursory investigation".

The notice informs the company that civil enforcement action be taken against it. The Wells Notice typically sets forth alleged violations of the securities laws and also specifies the remedies sought.

"We are confident in the legality of our assets and services, and if needed, we welcome a legal process to provide the clarity we have been advocating for and to demonstrate that the SEC simply has not been fair or reasonable when it comes to its engagement on digital assets," said Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal in response.

What can be expected now?

The markets are expected to remain volatile next week.

"The Fed may continue its moderate rate hike to manage the health of the economy and we can expect restricted growth in the markets due to high borrowing costs," said Dhruvil Shah, senior vice president (SVP) of Technology at Liminal.