$60K Shaken by 'Big Player' Exit... Industry Betting on US Trump [Bitcoin Now]

Slight Rebound After Jackson Hole
But US SEC's Tough Regulations and Market Fatigue
Large Bitcoin Holders Momentarily Exit

The Bitcoin market in the last week of August experienced a bearish trend, falling below the $60,000 mark once again. After the Jackson Hole Symposium held on the 22nd (local time) in Wyoming, USA, prices rose slightly, creating a hopeful atmosphere. However, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) regulatory stance on the digital asset market and market fatigue combined to cause so-called "whales," or large holders, to exit.

According to the global virtual asset market tracking site CoinMarketCap, as of 9:48 a.m. on the 31st (Korean time), Bitcoin's price was $59,319.96, up 0.08% from the previous day. Compared to a week ago, it fell 7.42%, and compared to a month ago, it dropped 10.41%. However, it recorded a 117.96% increase compared to a year ago.

The price, which started in the low $64,000 range on the 25th, began to decline from the 27th and experienced a sharp drop on the 28th. On the 28th, Bitcoin's price briefly fell to $58,230 and has since attempted to recover the $60,000 level, but as of the 31st, it has again fallen below $60,000.

Last week's price weakness is attributed to profit-taking sales by large Bitcoin holders. The virtual asset specialized media CoinDesk cited CoinGlass data on the 27th (local time), diagnosing that about $313 million (approximately 417.3 billion KRW) worth of long positions were liquidated in the virtual asset market. Bitcoin accounted for about $95 million of the liquidations. This is the largest liquidation scale since Bitcoin's crash on August 5th.

The U.S. government's tough regulatory stance on the digital asset market is considered a burden. On the 28th (local time), the SEC sent a "Wells Notice" (legal action warning) to OpenSea, a leading non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. According to local media reports, the SEC raised concerns that NFTs listed on OpenSea have securities characteristics. The SEC has either warned or taken legal action against various entities, including exchanges (Coinbase, Binance, Kraken), blockchain companies (Ripple), digital asset wallets (Consensys), and stablecoin issuers (PayPal).

However, the virtual asset industry is pinning hopes on the U.S. presidential election in November. Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, has long positioned himself as a "pro-virtual asset president." On the 27th of last month (local time), Trump personally attended the "Bitcoin 2024 Conference" held in Nashville, Tennessee, as a keynote speaker and announced a strategic plan to stockpile Bitcoin. He also expressed his intention to accept Bitcoin as a campaign donation.

Vice President Kamala Harris of the Democratic Party has also shown a positive stance, pledging efforts to institutionalize the virtual asset industry. According to foreign media such as Bloomberg, Brian Nelson, a senior policy advisor for Harris's presidential campaign, stated on the 21st (local time) at the Democratic National Convention, in response to questions about efforts to engage the virtual asset community, "Harris will support policies that allow emerging technologies and such industries to continue growing."

Hong Sung-wook, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, said, "In the first half of this year, 48% of U.S. corporate political donations came from blockchain companies," adding, "Most of the funds are used to support the Republican side, which may explain why Trump continuously mentions digital assets." He also noted, "It is known that Coinbase and Ripple each contribute $100 million," and added, "U.S. blockchain companies seem to recognize that the presidential election results have an absolute impact on their business outlook."

According to the virtual asset data provider Alternative, as of that day, the Fear & Greed Index, which expresses investor sentiment as an index, was 29 points (fear). This is significantly lower than last week's 56 points (greed). Alternative's Fear & Greed Index means that a score closer to 0 indicates extreme fear and pessimism about investment, while a score near 100 indicates optimism.