Bitcoin sank below US$22,000 in Friday morning trading in Asia after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission slapped a superb on the Kraken exchange, sparking concerns that regulators are set to take a tougher line on cryptocurrency trading. The move adds to existing investor worries about macroeconomic trends, akin to higher rates of interest. Ether fell together with all other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies.

See related article: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says SEC has ‘terrible’ idea to ban crypto staking for U.S. retail customers

Fast facts

• Bitcoin fell 4.93% previously 24 hours to US$21,815 at 8 a.m. in Hong Kong, and lost 7% over the past calendar week, in accordance with data from CoinMarketCap. Ether dropped 6.32% to trade at US$1,547, logging a 5.86% weekly loss.

• Solana, the largest loser among the many top 10, slid 11.81% previously 24 hours, pushing its weekly loss to fifteen.69%. Shiba Inu dipped 11.66% within the last 24 hours, reversing gains over the past week to stay little modified.

• On Thursday, the U.S.-based crypto exchange Kraken said it shut its on-chain staking services for U.S. users to settle charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC said in a Thursday statement that two Kraken subsidiaries did not register the offer and sale of their staking programs, and that the exchange had agreed to pay US$30 million to settle the costs.

• Brian Armstrong, chief executive officer of Coinbase Global Inc., the biggest crypto exchange within the U.S., said on Wednesday that the SEC could also be considering a broad ban on crypto staking for U.S. retail users, which he called a “terrible” idea.

• Staking refers back to the means of crypto investors depositing tokens into certain blockchains to receive rewards, typically more tokens — a practice widely used on various “proof-of-stake” blockchains including Ethereum, the second biggest.

• “Today’s motion should clarify to the marketplace that staking-as-a-service providers must register and supply full, fair, and truthful disclosure and investor protection,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said within the statement.

• U.S. equities fell on Thursday, as traders assessed earnings and job data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.73%. The S&P 500 Index slipped 0.88% and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 1.02%. Trading this week has been choppy, with several U.S. Federal Reserve governors stating more rate of interest increases are coming and rates may stay higher for longer to beat back inflation.

• Analysts on the CME Group predict a greater than 90% likelihood the Fed will raise rates of interest by an additional 25 basis points at its next meeting in March. U.S. rates of interest are currently at 4.5% to 4.75%, the very best in 15 years, and Fed officials have repeatedly indicated they may raise rates to as high as 5%.

• Figures released Thursday showed that U.S. initial jobless claims, or applications for unemployment advantages, rose to 196,000 last week. While that’s higher than the 183,000 within the previous week, the claims are still at historically low levels and indicate labor demand stays high. More people in work would typically be excellent news for an economy, but with the Fed focused on slowing inflation, strong economic indicators can indicate more rate of interest hikes will follow.

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