Responsibility of SEC for crypto securities, Federal Fiscal Court’s decision on crypto taxes, Solana’s fight against network failures, serious accusations against Binance, and Silvergate problems: these events made the news this week.

Another exciting week in the crypto space is drawing to a close. The most important events around Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Co. at a glance.

SEC Responsible for All Crypto Values ​​- Except Bitcoin

In a February 23 interview with New York Magazine, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) head Gary Gensler assessed that all cryptocurrencies “except Bitcoin” fall under Treasury control. According to Gensler, with the exception of Bitcoin, all crypto tokens must be treated as securities.

“At their core,” says Gary Gensler, “these tokens are securities because there is a pool in the middle, and the public expects earnings based on that pool.”

Federal Fiscal Court Makes Decision on Crypto Taxes

Profits from cryptocurrency trading are subject to income tax law. The Federal Tax Court reached this decision. This means that many investors now have clarity from above.

The judges at the highest German finance court made it clear: cryptocurrencies are economic goods that have a market value and can be bought and sold as a means of payment on trading platforms. This means that profits from Bitcoin, Ethereum and Co. are considered “private sales transactions” and must be stated in the tax return.

How Solana Fights Against Failures in the Network

The new year starts for Solana with old problems – a network failure. On February 25, the Blockchain went down for more than 24 hours. A software update caused a bug, unfortunately, not an isolated case. In 2022, Solana struggled with a total of seven network outages. Critics claim that the reason for this vulnerability is a design flaw in the Blockchain. Will Solana get the problem under control in 2023?

“Of course, such failures shouldn’t happen,” Max Sherwood, a Solana validator working for Berlin-based trading app Unstoppable Finance, tells BTC-ECHO. “But you have to be fair. Solana is in beta. No one claims the Blockchain work is done. We learn something new with every network failure.”

Serious Accusations against Binance

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is said to have embezzled $1.8 billion in customer funds, Forbes writes in a recent article. The business magazine is thus assuming that the trading venue is “maneuvering similarly to FTX”.

When the crypto exchange FTX imploded in November last year, competitor Binance presented itself as a white knight who shook hands with the ailing industry. The trading center is campaigning for more transparency with an initiative to disclose its own reserves, launching a billion-euro recovery fund, and providing financial support to struggling crypto companies. Binance repeatedly emphasizes that its own customer assets are fully covered.

Silvergate: Crypto Bank Continues to Get into Trouble

After Silvergate shares suffered a price drop of more than 40 percent, a growing number of players in the crypto sector are distancing themselves from the bank. The crypto derivatives platform Ledger X and the trading platform Coinbase had already stopped payment transactions with the company last Thursday.

Crypto exchange Crypto.com then suspended US dollar transfers through Silvergate on Friday. A number of other big players followed. So have Circle, Paxos, Galaxy, Gemini, Bitstamp, and CBOE, which have all gone out of business with the bank.

By Audy Castaneda

On Friday, XRP bucked the broader trend of the crypto market, rising 0.02% to end the day at $0.37736. Updates to the ongoing SEC vs. Ripple case offer XRP recovery from a Silvergate Bank-fueled slide to less than $0.36. Technical indicators remained bearish, indicating a return to below $0.35.

On Friday, XRP rose 0.02%. Following a 1.62% loss on Thursday, XRP ended the day at $0.37736. Significantly, XRP fell below $0.36 for the first time since January 11, before recovering.

A bearish start to the day saw XRP drop to an early morning low of $0.35200. XRP fell through major support levels before a late breakout to a session high of $0.38049. However, failing to reach the first major resistance level (R1) at $0.3833, XRP pulled back to end the day at $0.37736.

SEC vs. Ripple Case News Offers XRP Price Support

After an extended silence, updates to the ongoing SEC vs. Ripple case delivered XRP price support on Friday.

Defense attorney James Filan shared the last statement, via Twitter, in the following terms:

“Ripple files Letter Regarding Recent Supreme Court case that supports Ripple’s Fair Notice Defense.  This opinion strongly supports Defendants’ fair notice defense…. [because] the government’s prior guidance appears to contradict its present litigating position.”

The filing relates to the February 28, 2023 Supreme Court decision in Bittner v. USA. According to the filing, the court reversed a decision “by the Fifth Circuit that had held that the Bank Secrecy Act authorized a $10,000 penalty for each foreign account a person failed to disclose, rather than for each report the person failed to file.”

Summarizing Chief Justice Gorsuch’s elaborate comments, the filing provided the reason why the opinion strongly supports fair notice of defendants.

Notably, Ripple’s defense team went on to say that “as in Bittner, the relevant statutory provisions provide no discussion specific to the facts of this case. As in Bittner, the government´s prior guidance appears to contradict its present litigating position.”

XRP Price Action – Technical Indicators

XRP needs to avoid the $0.3700 pivot to target the first major resistance level (R1) at $0.3879 and Friday’s high of $0.38049. A return to $0.38 would signal a bullish session. However, the broader crypto market and SEC vs. Ripple talk would need to support a breakout.

In the event of a prolonged rally, XRP would likely test the second major resistance level (R2) at $0.3984 and resistance at $0.40. The third main resistance level (R3) sits at $0.4269.

The 50-day EMA flattened out at the 200-day EMA, while the 100-day EMA pulled back from the 200-day EMA. The signals were bearish.

A move of XRP through the 50-day EMA ($0.37836) would support a break of the 100 and 200-day EMAs to target R1 ($0.3879) and resistance at $0.39. A move of XRP through the 50-day EMA would send a bullish signal. However, a failure to move through the 50-day EMA ($0.37836) would leave major support levels in play.

By Audy Castaneda