Bitcoin price stable around $23,000, despite news of Tornado Cash penalties
Bitcoin´s price has been stable and consolidating between $22,500 and $24,500 for a few weeks now and seems to be undeterred by the negative news that continues to trickle into crypto space and the actions of global regulators, particularly in the US, where authorities are tightening their grip on companies offering cryptocurrency-related services. On Monday, in particular, actions were taken against the cryptocurrency 'mixer', Tornado Cash.
The US Treasury Department sanctioned the popular cryptocurrency mixer for its alleged use by the notorious North Korean hacker group and other actors to launder cryptocurrencies.
The tool is used by some people as a legitimate way to protect their privacy in the still nascent cryptocurrency market. Typically, when a buyer pays for something using a cryptocurrency wallet, the recipient of the transfer has access to the wallet, showing account details and history.
Using a cryptocurrency mixing service like Tornado Cash masks those details, provides anonymity to the funds and hides the identity of the buyer.
The price action of the major tokens does not seem to have suffered following this news. Bitcoin remains within touching distance of $24,000, following Monday's highs above this price level, while Ethereum also has $1,800 in its sights. Total capitalization is entrenched above $1.1 trillion.
"Sentiment seems to be changing among cryptocurrency traders and this is all mainly due to one fundamental reason, and that is that institutions are still very interested in Bitcoin," stated Naeem Aslam, analyst at Avatrade, "and they don't want to waste the current opportunity to bag Bitcoin while it is cheap," he added.
He also pointed out that proof of this comes in the news that BlackRock decided to use Coinbase to offer cryptocurrencies to its clients. "This particular news could not be bigger, and shows that despite all the bursts in the cryptocurrency performance market, the smart money knows that they are an asset class they should participate in as the risk-reward ratio is very motivating," Aslam concluded.