Bitcoin edges up, extends recovery

The cryptocurrency rose 0.7% to $76,498.3, having shown limited reaction to the U.S. central bank’s move overnight

Bitcoin ticked up on Thursday, extending a recovery from a sharp decline two days ago that was driven by the failure of key crypto legislation passing the U.S. Senate. Gains were small, however, as market participants digested the central bank’s first interest rate hike in three years and projections of more policy tightening.

The cryptocurrency rose 0.7% to $76,498.3 by 21:17 GMT, having shown limited reaction to the U.S. central bank’s move overnight.

Bitcoin traded in a genuinely wide band through Wednesday’s decision before stabilizing and edging modestly higher into Thursday. Ether saw an even sharper round trip, ending the session closer to the floor of its own range – a reminder that Ether’s sensitivity to macro shocks continues to run hotter than Bitcoin’s, Iliya Kalchev, analyst at Nexo Dispatch, said.

The scale of that move is itself worth dwelling on. Bitcoin’s price swing dwarfed the reaction in equities across the two sessions bracketing the decision, underscoring how much more amplitude crypto still carries around major macro events, he said.

What actually drove the selling wasn’t the rate increase – that outcome had been fully priced for days – but the fact that the Fed’s own forecasts now describe this as the start of a sequence rather than a standalone move, Kalchev added.

Higher rate environments tend to weigh on speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies.

Under the SEC’s rule unveiled on Thursday, platforms facilitating trading of tokenized stocks — digital tokens representing shares that can be traded on a blockchain much like cryptocurrencies — will receive a five-year exemption from many requirements that apply to traditional exchanges such as the Nasdaq and NYSE. Liquidity providers for these tokenized securities will similarly be exempted from dealer registration rules for five years.

Platforms will be required to notify companies before listing tokenized versions of their stock and will be barred from doing so if the issuer objects, according to an SEC official.

Proponents in the crypto industry argue tokenization could transform markets by enabling 24/7 trading and instant settlement, improving liquidity and lowering transaction costs. The SEC noted the technology could also facilitate investor self-custody and fractional share ownership.

The agency said the exemption was necessary because platforms offering tokenized stocks could otherwise struggle to comply with federal securities laws without making potentially burdensome changes to their business models.