Bitcoin — Most cryptocurrencies have moved in an unexpected and less steady manner during the last year.
The failure of multiple stablecoins contributed significantly to the crypto market’s downturn, and the November collapse of FTX pulled the sector back from its sluggish comeback.
Since then, the crypto market has gained some stability, and this week has brought more good news.
On Monday, the price of Bitcoin surged as banking institutions validated the popular cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin increased by more than 5% to $28,0002.18 according to Coin Metrics.
The gain brought the cryptocurrency to its highest level since early May.
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Sympathy for crypto
Since late last week, the response to cryptocurrencies has been overwhelmingly favorable.
Some of the feelings may be traced back to a BlackRock filing in which it applied for the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States.
BlackRock is one of the leading suppliers of investment, advising, and risk management solutions, making it one of the most trustworthy businesses to invest in cryptocurrency.
The move comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission sued two prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase.
As a result, many people are wondering about the timing of BlackRock’s decision, particularly because Coinbase is expected to be its crypto custody partner.
A new exchange
On Tuesday, Bitcoin received another boost.
EDX Markets, a new cryptocurrency exchange, said that it has been operational for many weeks, acting as an alternate trading platform for Bitcoin and Ether.
EDX is supported by financial behemoths Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, and Fidelity Digital Assets.
CEO Jamil Nazarali made the announcement on LinkedIn, writing:
“I am proud to announce that EDX Markets (EDX) has successfully launched our digital asset market and completed an investment round with new equity partners.”
“EDX’s official launch allows our outstanding team to bring crypto the same values and standards of competition, transparency, fairness, and safety that investors in traditional assets expect and enjoy.”
EDX is an unusual platform in that it does not have custody of its clients’ digital assets.
To acquire and sell crypto assets, they must go via financial intermediaries, similar to trading on the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange.
The strategy is preferred by regulators, according to Nazarali, since it emphasizes the separation of the broker transaction function and the exchange function.
“What we’re seeing is that increasingly, investors want to trade through their trusted intermediaries, and that’s especially true post-FTX, which was supposed to be the leader in the digital market. If you can’t trust them, who can you trust?”
“So people are falling back on the firms that have been around for a really long time and that have really stood the test of time, and that’s a really important tailwind for us.”
Because of the ambiguous restrictions in the United States, EDX now only provides four cryptocurrencies:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Bitcoin (LITE)
- Bitcoin (BCH)
“We have a limited set of tokens because until there is more regulatory clarity, we don’t want to trade something that’s potentially a security,” Nazarali explained.
“Regulators really like that we don’t take that risk.”
Other institutions
Fidelity has been keeping up with crypto developments since 2014.
To maintain its interest in the crypto area, the corporation took the following steps a few years ago:
- Fidelity Crypto, a commission-free retail investing app, was launched.
- Access to cryptocurrencies was made available to 401(k) holders.
Several financial institutions are keen to demonstrate their enthusiasm for blockchain technology, particularly how it may upgrade outdated financial infrastructure.
However, only a handful are as vociferous about their opinions on cryptocurrency investing.
However, with large companies such as BlackRock and Fidelity highlighting their crypto pledges, investors were more hopeful on Tuesday.
They were especially hoping that some of the negative perceptions of the crypto industry’s hazards would dissipate, as several investors thought they had encountered a mental hurdle while purchasing Bitcoin.
In the meanwhile, Bitcoin has struggled to break out of its current trading range.
Regardless, they have yet to fall far below $25,000.
Bitcoin’s monthly gains crossed into the green zone on Tuesday, increasing by 69% in 2023.
