Top cryptocurrencies nurse losses as regulatory picture sours, with Bitcoin under pressure and XRP teetering near $1 amid a cluster of unfriendly developments over the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin traded at $62,920 as of reporting, down from recent highs, while XRP held near the $1 support level. Spot bitcoin ETFs shed $333 million in net outflows this week, reversing last week’s $853 million inflows and extending year-to-date outflows to $4 billion.
The regulatory backdrop deteriorated Friday when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission abruptly postponed a planned open meeting on Reg Crypto, its effort to create fundraising rules for token projects. The agency announced no new date for the rescheduled meeting. Separately, progress on the Clarity Act has stalled in the Senate, leaving a key legislative pathway for crypto regulation blocked.
The SEC is also set to further delay its “innovation exemption” rule, designed to make it easier to trade tokenized securities on blockchain networks under current securities laws. Concerns from the White House and Wall Street prompted the postponement over the proposal’s legal footing and potential market impact.
Macroeconomic headwinds compounded selling pressure. On Thursday, a U.S. 30-year note auction drew yields as high as 5.22%, the highest since 2001. Rising long-term Treasury yields increase capital costs and raise the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like bitcoin, pushing investors toward fixed-income alternatives.
MSCI, the index provider, opened a consultation proposing to remove non-operating companies from its equity indices. The proposal targets Bitcoin holders Strategy and Metaplanet, both companies held in crypto-focused investment products.
Matt Mena, senior crypto research strategist at 21shares, struck a contrasting note on medium-term prospects. “Fundamentals and price action are aligning: in July, the total crypto market outperformed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 by 7.5 percentage points and 14.2 percentage points, respectively. That sets the stage for a strong third quarter and a potentially explosive fourth, in which $100,000 bitcoin, $3,000 ether, $70 HYPE and $110 SOL all come into view.”
XRP has held the $1 support level, though traders who accumulated coins below that threshold in late 2024 face mounting pressure. A breach of the $1 floor could prompt further selling, extending losses that have already weighed on the altcoin through the week.
