According to the researcher and analyst Mark Connors, the current state of cryptocurrency markets, including Bitcoin (BTC) can be defined a 'safe haven period.' Connors, who is the head of research at 3IQ, informed CoinDesk TV's 'First Mover' that Bitcoin's price is quite far from other digital assets, such as Ether (ETH), as well as traditional financial assets, including gold and U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds.

During the last four weeks, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market cap has raised over 20% in value, outperforming other forms of investments, such as gold (up 8%) and U.S. 10-year Treasurys (-4.3%). At the time of writing, Bitcoin values are above the $28,000 mark.

Connors believes such a stellar performance is largely due to regulatory headwinds, uncertainty in the banking sector, and the forced exit of some unscrupulous actors in the industry. Recently, Silvergate Bank, Signature Bank, and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) have closed or been taken over by government authorities.

At the same time, The Biden administration is reportedly looking to assert greater control over the digital asset sector, cracking down on fraudulent activities. An example of this is the crackdown against Do Kwon, the Terraform Labs founder, who had allegedly been transferring Bitcoin from a wallet to a Swiss bank, converting it to fiat cash.

Similarly, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the now-defunct FTX exchange, was arrested and will be put on trial later this year. Connors postulates that this regulatory action has put an end to speculations of fraud in the digital asset markets, prompting Bitcoin's appreciation. As of today, the cryptocurrency has advanced 63% this year alone.



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