While Bitcoin has yet to recapture its November 2021 peak around $69,000, the cryptocurrency has recently surpassed record highs in local currencies across the globe.

State attorneys general from eight states are pushing back against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, arguing that the agency overstepped its authority.

In a move coinciding with a rise in the price of Bitcoin, the United States government on February 28th transferred $922 million worth of the cryptocurrency from two wallets containing funds seized from the Bitfinex exchange in 2016.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Bitcoin Price Hits New All-Time High in Various Currencies
• State Attorneys General Challenge SEC’s Lawsuit Against Kraken
• U.S. Government Moves $922 Million in Bitcoin Seized From 2016 Bitfinex Hack
• Crypto Market Movers – FET, STX, FLR

Bitcoin Price Hits New All-Time High in Various Currencies

While Bitcoin has yet to recapture its November 2021 peak around $69,000, the cryptocurrency has recently surpassed record highs in local currencies across the globe, according to industry analysts.

The price of Bitcoin has moved up over 160% over the past year and more than 44.6% over the last 30 days amid growing demand fueled by its upcoming halving event and the recently launched spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Its surge comes amid a strengthening U.S. dollar, reflected in the 10.7% rise of the U.S. dollar index (DXY) since November 2021, which means that other fiat currencies have lost against the USD, making Bitcoin appear comparatively more valuable in those markets.

Countries witnessing these local record highs for Bitcoin include economic powerhouses like China, Japan, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and India, alongside developing economies like Argentina, Turkey, and Egypt.

Japan, in particular, has seen a 24% depreciation of the Yen, pushing Bitcoin to a record price there well before the recent global surge.

State Attorneys General Challenge SEC’s Lawsuit Against Kraken

State attorneys general from eight states are pushing back against the U.S.  Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, arguing that the agency overstepped its authority.

In an amicus brief filed Thursday, attorneys general from Montana, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Texas joined forces with industry groups and other participants to challenge the SEC's approach.

The filing contends that the SEC is exceeding the regulator’s legal boundaries by expanding the definition of an "investment contract" to encompass cryptocurrencies, which the officials argue ”are not automatically securities.”

This broad interpretation, they warn, could potentially harm consumers by “potentially preempting state statutes better tailored to the specific risks of non-securities products.“

The SEC's lawsuit against Kraken, filed last fall, accuses the exchange of  operating without registration, failing to prevent known conflicts of interest, and commingling user fund. The exchange has challenged the lawsuit, contending the case is  operating without registration, failing to prevent known conflicts of interest, and commingling user funds.

The exchange argues that eight decades of precedent established by the Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit Court require the SEC to identify a specific contract between users and token issuers to qualify as an investment contract, and assets crypto tokens don’t satisfy the Howey test, used to define securities.

U.S. Government Moves $922 Million in Bitcoin Seized From 2016 Bitfinex Hack

In a move coinciding with a rise in the price of Bitcoin, the United States government on February 28th transferred $922 million worth of the cryptocurrency from two wallets containing funds seized from the Bitfinex exchange in 2016.

The transfers occurred the same day Bitcoin surpassed $60,000 for the first time in over two years, and came with an initial test transaction of one Bitcoin, followed by three larger transactions totaling over 15,000 Bitcoin, according to data from blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence.

The government seized the funds after Bitfinex was hacked in 2016, resulting in the theft of approximately 119,754 Bitcoin, currently valued at over $7.4 billion.

The timing of the transfers coincides with the recent court appearance of Ilya Lichtenstein, a hacker accused of stealing and laundering over $4.5 billion worth of Bitcoin from Bitfinex.

Lichtenstein appeared in a Washington court on February 27th, detailing his methods in what is considered one of the largest Bitcoin thefts in history. The reasons behind the government's decision to move the seized Bitcoin time remain unclear.

Crypto Market Movers – FET, STX, FLR

Several tokens are leading the charge in the last 7-day period. Some of these are well-known cryptocurrencies with more liquid trading pairs, so we’ll be focusing on these over low-cap cryptos that may have higher percentage changes.

Fetch.AI (FET) - Fetch.AI is a digital cryptocurrency that is part of a larger innovative project with a significant platform. Fetch.AI is an advanced, decentralized digital world where autonomous software agents perform useful economic work on behalf of their owners.

Stacks (STX) - Stacks (STX) is the native token of the Stacks blockchain, a layer-one blockchain built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. The Stacks blockchain is designed to enable developers to create decentralized applications (dApps) with smart contracts, tokenize assets, and build digital marketplaces. The STX token is built using the Clarity smart contract language, which is a purpose-built, secure, and auditable language.

Flare (FLR) - Flare is a layer 1 network that centers on blockchain interoperability—the ability for different blockchains to communicate with one another. It is designed to bring smart contract capabilities to other blockchain projects that lack them, such as the XRP Ledger.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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