Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Friday (February 28) as of 9:00 p.m. UTC.
Bitcoin and Ethereum price update
Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at US$84,278.24, reflecting an increase of 1 percent over the past 24 hours. The day’s trading range has seen a high of US$84,851.28 and a low of US$81,015.49.
Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, told Cointelegraph that Bitcoin could fall further, “nearing $75,000 as a key support level based on historical patterns and trader sentiment.”
Ethereum (ETH) is priced at US$2,213.28, a loss of 1.5 percent over the same period.
The cryptocurrency reached an intraday high of US$2,238.75 and a low of US$2,138.62. According to crypto intelligence platform Lookonchain, hackers who made off with US$1.4 billion worth of crypto from decentralized exchange Bybit had laundered over US$605 million worth of Ether as of Thursday (February 27) evening.
Altcoin price update
XRP is trading at US$2.14, reflecting a 0.8 percent decrease over the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency recorded an intraday high of US$2.16 and a low of US$2.70.
Sui (SUI) is priced at US$2.82, showing a 1.6 percent increase over the past 24 hours. It achieved a daily high of US$2.83 and a low of US$2.52.
Cardano (ADA) is trading at US$0.6306. The last 24 hours have shown no net change. Its highest price on Friday was US$0.6368, with a low of US$0.6123.
Crypto news to know
House Democrats to launch meme coin act
House Democrats are preparing to introduce the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (MEME) Act, which prohibits public officials from profiting from, endorsing, issuing or promoting any digital assets.
California Representative Sam Liccardo shared his party’s intent to address concerns surrounding meme coins and potential conflicts of interest with ABC News on Thursday.
“Let’s make corruption criminal again,” said Liccardo, a former federal and local criminal prosecutor.
“The Trumps’ issuance of meme coins financially exploits the public for personal gain, and raises the specter of insider trading and foreign influence over the Executive Branch,’ he added.
The MEME Act seeks to establish clear guidelines for public officials regarding digital assets. In other regulatory developments, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) determined on Thursday that meme coins are not securities. Therefore, traders are not required to register their transactions with the commission.
However, Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw warned that the commission’s vague definition of meme coins could be exploited to potentially circumvent securities regulations.
SEC postpones ruling on Ether ETF options
The SEC has opted to delay its ruling on whether or not to allow Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) options to be listed on the Cboe. According to a Friday filing, the SEC has extended the deadline to make a final decision until May 2.
The Cboe is seeking to list options on the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (CBOE:FETH), initially filing its request in August 2024. This is the second time the SEC has delayed its decision, having extended its deadline for the first time in October.
On February 7, the agency also delayed its decision to allow options tied to BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum ETF (NASDSAQ:ETHA) to be listed on the Nasdaq ISE, giving itself until April 9.
BlackRock includes iShares Bitcoin Trust in model offerings
BlackRock, a leading global investment firm, has incorporated its Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT), into its model portfolio offerings. “We believe Bitcoin has long-term investment merit and can potentially provide unique and additive sources of diversification to portfolios,” Michael Gates, lead portfolio manager for BlackRock’s Target Allocation ETF model portfolio suite, wrote on Thursday in a note obtained by Bloomberg.
The decision signals growing acceptance among financial advisors to consider Bitcoin as a component of diversified investment strategies. However, BlackRock will limit Bitcoin’s representation within these portfolios to a range of 1 to 2 percent, perhaps acknowledging Bitcoin’s characteristic price volatility, which was on full display this week.
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.