Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) traded above the psychologically important $50,000 level on Tuesday night as the global cryptocurrency market capitalization rose 3.2% to $2.22 trillion.
What Happened: The apex cryptocurrency rose 3.44% over 24 hours to $51,295.07 at press time. Over a seven-day trailing period, BTC has risen 23.33%.
See Also: How To Buy Bitcoin (BTC)
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) gained 3.29% over 24 hours to $3,522.44. For the week, ETH has appreciated 23.76%.
Shiba Inu-themed Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) was up 1.95% at $0.25 over 24 hours. Over a seven-day period, DOGE has risen 25.77%.
Siacoin was the top 24-hour gainer on Tuesday night, followed by Shiba Inu.
SC shot up 35.85% to $0.022 over 24 hours, while SHIB rose 30.44% to $$0.000017 in a similar time frame. SC and SHIB have risen 65.29% and 140.7% over the week.
Why It Matters: In response to a question by a lawmaker at a Congressional hearing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said that a China-like cryptocurrency ban was not on the table in the United States, Bloomberg reported.
See Also: Why Is Dogecoin Rival Shiba Inu Skyrocketing Today?
“Our approach is really quite different,” Gensler reportedly said. Such a ban would have to be legislated by Congress, as per the SEC chair.
In his testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, Gensler said, “Frankly, at this time, it’s more like the Wild West or the old world of “buyer beware” that existed before the securities laws were enacted. This asset class is rife with fraud, scams, and abuse in certain applications. We can do better.”
The SEC chair said the regulator was working on two tracks: one on how to work with other financial regulators under current authorities to bring investor protection to cryptocurrency markets. Second on identifying gaps that SEC can fill with Congress’ assistance.
Meanwhile, market sentiment is improving as bulls return to the BTC market. The Fear and Greed Index is now signaling “Greed”, which is a remarkable turnaround from last week when it indicated “Extreme Fear.”
The bullish sentiment was noted by some analysts.
#Bitcoin continuing the run, that’s great.
Strongly above $50K.
— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) October 5, 2021
“We expect short-term overbought conditions to be weathered long enough for a test of minor resistance near $52.9K, a breakout above which would target the all-time high,” said Katie Stockton, managing director of the technical research firm Fairlead Strategies, CoinDesk reported.
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