Bitcoin Falls Below $26,500 As SEC Clamp Down Continues

TL;DR

• Bitcoin has dropped below the $26,500 level as the US SEC continues its clamp down on Binance.

• The regulatory agency is seeking a temporary restraining order to freeze Binance.US assets.

Bitcoin Stays Above $26k As SEC Clamp Down Intensifies 

Bitcoin has lost nearly 2% of its value in the last 24 hours as the regulatory pressure on the cryptocurrency market continues. 

The poor performance comes as the US SEC continues its clamp down on Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange. Late on Tuesday, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked a court to grant it a temporary restraining order to freeze assets related to Binance.US.

A few hours later, a US District Court in Washington, D.C. issued a summons for Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance. While Changpeng Zhao is not expected to appear before the court, he is expected to respond to the summon within 21 days. 

Despite the ongoing regulatory pressure, Bitcoin has maintained its value above $26k. BTC has lost roughly 2% of its value in the last 24 hours and is now trading at around $26,400 per coin.

The total cryptocurrency market cap is also down by more than 2% and now stands at $1.1 trillion. 

BNB, the native coin of the Binance ecosystem, is one of the biggest losers amongst the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap today. The coin has lost more than 6% of its value as Binance continues to face the heat.