Key Highlights

  • Bitcoin fell 1.9% to $62,701.40, trading down more than 3% for the week.
  • The SEC is set to further delay its planned "innovation exemption" for tokenized securities after concerns from the White House and Wall Street over the proposal's legal footing.
  • The delay may be tied to ongoing congressional negotiations over the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a key piece of pending crypto legislation.
  • Broader crypto markets lagged a rebound in equities this week, as investors favored AI-exposed technology stocks following strong earnings.

Regulatory Delay Offsets Rate-Cut Optimism

Bitcoin fell below $63,000 on Friday as a delay in a planned government measure for tokenized securities offset optimism stemming from soft US Inflation data that reduced expectations for near-term Federal Reserve rate hikes. The world's largest Cryptocurrency fell 1.9% to $62,701.40 and was trading down more than 3% for the week. Broader crypto markets largely lagged a rebound in risk Assets this week, particularly equities, as cooling rate-hike expectations and strong technology Earnings drew investor attention toward AI-exposed stocks instead.

SEC Set to Delay Tokenized Securities Exemption

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is set to further delay its planned "innovation exemption" for tokenized securities after the White House and Wall Street raised concerns over the proposal's legal footing and potential market impact, according to a report citing sources familiar with the matter. The exemption had been expected to be partially unveiled Friday, but the SEC canceled the related meeting late Thursday. One source said the White House was concerned the move could complicate ongoing congressional negotiations over the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a key piece of crypto legislation that has faced repeated delays over the past year amid opposition from banking groups and consumer advocates. SEC staff have also grown more focused on whether the agency has sufficient legal authority and economic analysis to justify the exemption.

Broader Altcoin Market Also Declines

Ether fell 1.3% to $1,869.14, while XRP declined 0.7%. Solana and BNB slipped 1.4% and 0.9% respectively, while Cardano fell 2.9%. Memecoins Dogecoin and the Trump-branded token each shed about 1%. The broader pullback in crypto assets came even as soft US inflation data for July fueled expectations that the Federal Reserve would hold off on near-term rate increases, a dynamic that has typically supported crypto prices in the past but was outweighed this week by regulatory uncertainty and rotation toward technology equities.