Ethereum highs and Bitcoin's return to growth

Bitcoin has held above $30K, showing a 5% increase at the beginning of the new working week, and is trading around $34K. The benchmark cryptocurrency is avoiding sharp moves, and large investors may take a pause, waiting for new triggers. Technical indicators confirm the moderate price momentum. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index for Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies is in the greed mode, but so far in reasonable form. The RSI index on the daily chart is also far from the overbought condition. Thus, there are no obstacles for growth on the technical side, but for now, all participants can be extra cautious.

Bitcoin owes its historical highs to institutional investors who are now expected to make moves that could create momentum for the whole market. U.S. regulators are likely to take at least a neutral stance on cryptocurrencies. MicroStrategy considers Bitcoin price levels around $32K to be acceptable to buy. Nevertheless, buying $10 million worth of Bitcoin is not enough to create momentum right now. We will likely see similar buying decisions for relatively small amounts that aim to create a more positive news backdrop around cryptocurrencies.

Ethereum (ETH) is enjoying the most significant growth among the leading cryptocurrencies right now. The main altcoin has increased by more than 8% in the last 24 hours and is trading above $1,400. If the coin manages to stay above the historical maximum or confidently continues its growth, we will see new momentum for ETH and other top altcoins. The developers' progress on the transition to the second version of the project, as well as the upcoming launch of futures on the CME in early February has a very positive effect on the coin's value.

U.S. President Joe Biden appointed Gary Gensler to head the SEC. At the very least, Gensler is not considered an opponent of cryptocurrencies. While he has been optimistic about the crypto sector in general, he has also stated that XRP and Ethereum can be regarded as securities. Whatever Gensler's personal stance, you have to understand that he will be making decisions within the system following the general political course, which has many components in the U.S.

Right now, the institutional crypto-machine is just gaining momentum. If regulators don't stop it, growth of the crypto sector will be imminent. Hardly anyone in the world of big capital would voluntarily give up the opportunity to make huge profits from investing in cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, in Libra's example, we have seen that when there is political will and the threat of systemic risks, prohibitive decisions regarding even the largest projects are swift.