Bitcoin and Ether opened the trading week in Asia flat, with Bitcoin up 0.7% to $29,404 and Ether down 0.5% to $1,892. The Consensus 2023 festival brought builders and investors to Austin, with attendees optimistic about the future of the crypto industry, despite regulatory obstacles. Traders are expecting a 25-basis-point rate hike in the Federal Open Market Committee meeting this week, which could lead to price swings. Other crypto majors, including Solana and Avalanche, were also flat.
Members of CoinDesk's editorial team shared their takeaways on the critical issues that will shape how the cryptocurrency industry continues to unfold at the Consensus 2023 conference. The lack of regulatory clarity is a major concern for the industry, affecting not only crypto but also Web3 development across the United States. Non-US regulators are thinking about crypto while the US remains in a deadlock both in Congress and among regulators. The level of optimism about crypto is high, even with the bad regulatory outlook, and traditional finance remains high on the future of crypto.
Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies experienced significant market volatility over a 24-hour period, with bitcoin reaching a peak of $30,000 before settling above $29,000. The market saw losses of around $310 million from liquidations of both long and short positions. Meanwhile, the crypto industry and regulators are struggling to find linguistic consensus, particularly in the conversations between builders of decentralized finance (DeFi) and financial regulators. The Consensus 2023 conference is currently underway in Austin, Texas, with discussions on the future of the digital asset market's evolution.
Consensus 2023, CoinDesk's annual conference, will bring together major figures in crypto, finance, Web3, regulation, entertainment, and more to discuss the current state of the industry, the devastating year it just had, and what the future may hold. The conference will cover topics such as the relationship between traditional finance and crypto, what builders are building, the growth of the ownership economy, and rules and regulations. The conference will also feature a Policy Summit, where policymakers and industry leaders will discuss the future of the stablecoin industry and the emergence of multipolar crypto hubs.
