Market Highlight: Crypto market slumps, US SEC emphasizes crypto regulation, Visa launches crypto consulting service

The global crypto market has seen some of the worst days over the last few days. 

The global crypto market cap is currently at about $2.51 trillion, a 0.53% decrease over the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, and Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, saw sharp drops on Monday and Tuesday, erasing the small gains they had both made over the weekend.

Over the last week, both Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) have been on an up-down roller-coaster but well below all the highs that the two coins set last month.

Bitcoin has fallen below $47,000 while Ethereum is struggling below $38,000 as both continue with a dip that started on Sunday evening.

The current market dip has affected the majority of cryptocurrencies including altcoins with meme coins taking the hardest hit. The top three losers are ShibYield Inu (SHIBYIELD), Next Token (NXT), and GigaChad (CHAD), all of which have decreased by over 96%.

Omricon COVID variant and crypto regulation

The dip follows the new economic turmoil that has been brought about by the Omricon COVID-19 variant that is threatening to strangle the world economies once again.

There is also the ongoing stifle about crypto regulation in the US with the SEC emphasizing crypto regulation to keep the crypto world in check. The US president already signed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that includes crypto tax provisions into law last month.

The US SEC chairman, Gensler, on Sunday during an interview with the Wall Street Journal reiterated that the US needs more crypto regulation.

During the interview, Gensler said:

“Cryptocurrency fits into the broad remit… I’ve said publicly, ‘Come in, work with the SEC, get registered.’ It’s really important to get that investor protection.”

Visa’s crypto consultancy services

In a press conference last week, Visa said that the crypto advisory services will be geared towards financial institutions, retailers, and other firms to assist them to understand the crypto space better.

 Although Visa’s move does not affect individual crypto traders and investors directly, the move shows that cryptocurrencies are gaining popularity within the corporate world in the US.