in the past weekend, due to weakness throughout the cryptocurrency market.
Ripple Labs won its case against the Securities and Exchange Commission. A U.S. District Court ruled that Ripple (XRP-USD) was not a security. XRP may trade on Coinbase’s (COIN) platform, as well as other crypto exchanges.
The real culprit in Bitcoin’s drop was the U.S. Department of Justice moving 9,825 BTC on July 12. That was worth ~ $300 million. The DOJ will liquidate around 40,000 BTC related to the Silk Road seizure. It will sell the rest of the BTC in four batch transactions throughout the remainder of 2023.
The small blip in BTC is a good development. It indicates the big BTC sale does not have much of an impact on prices.
Bitcoin investors should zoom out of the chart. It rose dramatically, taking the title of the best-performing asset class of the decade and for any four-year trading period.
What Happens Next
Bitcoin will likely trade in a range, centering around $30,000. Another platform bankruptcy is unlikely. Even events that dramatically failed to pull BTC prices below $18,000 for extended periods.