Bitcoin (BTC) reached a high of $43,286.28 in the last seven days.

Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, appears to be losing the uncommon steam that propelled its price to $43,000 and worldwide market size to more over $1.61 trillion last week. However, BTC has not yet touched its $20,000 lows and is still trading over the $41,000 mark at the time of writing. However, with investor greed and expenditure appearing to be decreasing, BTC is projected to trade sideways in the coming days.

Before we continue, readers should be aware that the general crypto market and coin prices are quite volatile. There are no surefire strategies for predicting how cryptocurrencies will behave in the future. This article is intended to help investors stay current on market scenarios and major events that have already occurred, as well as some impending events worth mentioning. Before making any investment decision, investors should conduct their own research.

Crypto Prices Over The Past Week

The global crypto market cap was $1.58 trillion on Monday (December 11). BTC was trading at $42,500, while ETH was trading around $2,250.

A week later, the whole market capitalization had fallen to $1.46 trillion.

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DeFi’s total volume is $6.98 billion, accounting for 13.30% of overall market 24-hour volume. In the case of stablecoins, the total volume is $47.06 billion, accounting for 89.65% of the total 24-hour market volume. According to CoinMarketCap, the total market fear and greed index remained at ‘Greed’ with 70 points (out of 100), a drop from over 80 (Extreme Greed) only a week ago.

At the time of writing, BTC had 51.87 percent of the market.

Bitcoin reached a high of $43,286.28 (on December 14) and a low of $40,556.38 (on December 12) in the last seven days.

In contrast, Ethereum reached a high of $2,329.59 on December 15 and a low of $2,154.87 on December 13.

Crypto Events To Note

Last week, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), underlined the importance of regulating cryptocurrencies since they pose potential hazards to financial stability. Georgieva, speaking at a digital currency conference in Seoul, emphasised the difficulties associated with mass adoption of crypto assets.

She voiced concern that a boom in crypto asset usage could imperil macro-financial stability by reducing the efficacy of monetary policy transmission, capital-flow management measures, and fiscal policy sustainability due to the inherent volatility influencing tax collection.

In view of the growing significance of cryptocurrencies, the IMF chief emphasised the importance of regulatory measures to manage these potential dangers and ensure a stable financial environment.

Furthermore, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently denied Coinbase Global’s request for the introduction of new laws in the digital asset market. The refusal, which occurred on Friday, spurred the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange to file a judicial challenge.

The SEC, which is made up of five members, voted 3-2 against imposing new measures. The majority argued that, contrary to Coinbase’s allegation, the present regulatory structure for the cryptosphere is “workable.” Following the verdict, Coinbase announced the filing of a petition in a court of law to have the SEC’s ruling reviewed.

This is the latest phase in an ongoing battle between the Bitcoin industry and the top financial regulatory authority in the United States. The SEC has repeatedly held that a considerable fraction of crypto tokens qualify as securities and are thus subject to its jurisdiction. This approach has resulted in legal actions against many crypto businesses, including Coinbase, for purportedly listing and trading tokens that should have been registered as securities under the Securities Act.

Finally, on a positive note, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reaffirmed his support to the cryptocurrency venture Worldcoin, in response to rumours that the company was seeking a $50 million cash injection.

The fundamental goal of Worldcoin is to create a global identification and financial network. Over 2.6 million people have expressed interest in having their iris scanned using Worldcoin’s “orb” devices as part of the campaign. Participants receive a digital identity and free cryptocurrency in exchange.

Altman spoke on these topics during a virtual question-and-answer session hosted by FT Partners, a fintech-focused investment bank. This session took place a week after The Block reported on Tools For Humanity, the entity behind Worldcoin, attempting to secure a $50 million investment from possible backers.