Cryptoverse: Bitcoin's scared of commitment, Mr Biden

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Bitcoin loves flirting with the mainstream. But now, as the U.S. president says he wants to get serious, it may be getting cold crypto feet. When Joe Biden ordered officials to prepare reports on the role of cryptocurrencies in future finance last Wednesday, bitcoin leapt as much as 9% and ether 8%, as many crypto fans hailed a potential milestone in mainstream acceptance. «The real importance of it is that the president of the United States is talking about crypto,» said Jack McDonald, CEO of Standard Custody, a firm handling digital asset custody solutions for institutional investors.

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Yet cryptocurrencies are complicated. While bitcoin danced above $42,500 following the news, it has since given up those gains and is now back at around $38,000. Similarly ether has slunk back down to straddle $2,500. That seems a muted market reaction to the White House's first formal pronouncement on crypto — though who can truly understand bitcoin, still licking its wounds from China's rejection and nursing nagging disquiet it's losing its identity. Regulation can be a double-edged sword. Some industry watchers see bullish signs for bitcoin, saying the presidential announcement could presage U.S. regulations on crypto that will draw far more institutional money from the likes of pension funds and insurance firms. «Biden's executive order could signal the end to the wild west of crypto as we know it,» said Edmund Kulakowski, senior financial crime consultant at London-based regulatory software company Fenergo. Yet it may not be such good news for those crypto players that thrive in the wild. «Quant-driven hedge