In a significant development on Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee advanced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act. The Act, aimed at countering surveillance threats, necessitates Congressional authorization for any issuance of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). This move was prompted by warnings from Majority Whip Tom Emmer about the potential misuse of CBDCs as surveillance tools that could potentially undermine American values.
On the same day, the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to maintain current interest rates resulted in a noticeable impact on riskier assets. The unchanged rates, coupled with optimistic revisions to the FOMC's economic projections, have led to a higher-for-longer interest rate environment. This has resulted in a 1.53% drop in the NASDAQ Composite Index and losses of 0.36% and 1.31% for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), respectively.
In response to these developments, Bitcoin fell below its 50-day and 200-day EMAs, indicating bearish price signals. If it fails to rise above these EMAs, Bitcoin could hit the $26,755 support level. However, an upward movement could lead to a surge towards the $28,187 resistance level. Ethereum also exhibited bearish price signals as it is currently below its $1,626 resistance level and the 50-day and 200-day EMAs. If ETH fails to break this resistance, it could drop below $1,600 and might even reach the $1,502 support level.
Earlier this week on Tuesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced plans to intensify enforcement activities on crypto exchanges, intermediaries, and DeFi platforms. David Hirsch, head of the SEC Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, revealed these plans during his speech at the Securities Enforcement Forum Central in Chicago.
In a related development, Stanford University has decided to return $5.5 million in donations received from FTX, thereby distancing itself from Sam Bankman Fried, Joseph Bankman, and Barbara Fried. This decision was made after engaging in discussions with FTX debtors.
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