Bitcoin, Ethereum Continue To Fall, Cryptocurrencies May Be Classified As Assets

Mainstream cryptocurrencies continued to plunge on November 17, while a major Indian daily reported that cryptocurrencies may be classified as an asset and not a currency. A report in the Economic Times quoted sources saying that cryptocurrencies may be an asset like gold and other commodities and may come under the purview of the capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). This is in sync with the stand a day earlier that cryptocurrencies may not be banned, but need to be regulated.

The prices of the world’s largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin were down to $59,299.05, witnessing a fall of around 2.63 per cent in the last 24 hours as at 9.30am, according to data from cryptocurrency exchange Coinmarketcap.com. Ethereum, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, was trading at $4,150.13, registering a fall of 3.45 per cent. Both the cryptocurrencies were down over 7 per cent on November 16 during morning trade.

Meme coins such as Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) were also in the red. Shiba Inu (SHIB) fell 3.39 per cent and Dogecoin was down 4.69 per cent in the last 24 hours, according to coinmarketcap.com. Shiba Inu was trading at $0.0000478, while Dogecoin at $0.2341 at 9:30 am, according to data from Coinmarketcap.com.

ARC Governance (ARCX) became the top gainer and Bananatok (BNA) lost the most in the last 24 hours, as per data at 9:30am, as per coinmarketcap.com.

The third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap Binance Coin (BNB) fell 5.61 per cent in the last 24 hours with a price of $573.13. Tether (USDT) was at the fourth position; it was priced at $1 and saw a growth of 0.3 per cent in the last 24 hours. Despite a fall of 5.16 per cent, Solana (SOL) remained at the fifth position in the coinmarketcap.com list, with a price of $213.91.

India Update

A day after a parliamentary panel met cryptocurrency stakeholders, where a consensus was reached that cryptocurrencies should not be banned but there was a definite need to regulate them, the Economic Times reported that cryptocurrencies may be categorised as an asset and not a currency. It also quoted people with knowledge of the matter as saying that Sebi, may be chosen to regulate cryptocurrencies. The report further said that the matter may be taken to the cabinet in two or three weeks.