Crypto wrap: Anticipation of G20 Summit outcome keeps bulls, bears fighting

The G20 Summit, to be held in New Delhi, is expected to provide some clarity on the global regulations on cryptocurrencies

In anticipation of the upcoming G20 Summit in New Delhi and the possibility of some progress towards global regulations on cryptocurrency, the market has been trading flat for the last one week.

According to market data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin was down 0.57 per cent in the last seven days and Ethereum was down 1 per cent. The total market cap was down to $1.041 trillion on Friday as compared to $1.046 trillion on September 1 (last Friday).

"With India gearing up to host the G20 Summit, it's anticipated that cryptocurrency will take centre stage in discussions among global leaders," the research team of crypto exchange CoinDCX told Business Standard.

The regulations are being drawn up with the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a body that monitors and makes recommendations on the global financial system.

Regulations are expected to help investors harness the potential benefits of crypto-assets while mitigating associated risks by addressing security, consumer protection, financial stability and international cooperation issues.

In a synthesis paper released this week, IMF and FSB suggested that crypto assets cannot be legal tender. However, an outright ban on all cryptocurrencies will not be effective in the long term.

On Friday, however, Bitcoin was trading in the green. Edul Patel, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Mudrex, said that it may be due to the synthesis paper, which also said that targeted rules and a comprehensive monetary strategy should be the way to go for the crypto market.

Another significant development in the crypto world came this week when the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decided to postpone the approvals and further action on the Bitcoin ETFs to mid-October.

"Grayscale expressed its readiness for a Bitcoin ETF once regulatory approval is secured and emphasized its willingness to cooperate with the evolving SEC regulatory framework. Despite the lack of major price fluctuations, the crypto market stayed attentive to regulatory developments, exemplified by these ETF-related moves," said Rajagopal Menon, vice-president (VP), WazirX.

According to Parth Chaturvedi, investments lead at CoinSwitch Ventures, for both the major crypto assets, Bitcoin and Ethereum, the near-term price trigger is the spot ETF approvals, with Cathie Wood's ARK also filing for an ETH spot ETF last week.