Crypto On Jan 19: Market Remains In Red As US Mulls Mining Curbs

The cryptocurrency market remains in the red as top coins, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, continue to slide, leading the global market cap to fall 2.87% to $1.95 trillion as of 2.47 a.m. ET. The bearishness comes ahead of a Congressional hearing on the environmental impact of the blockchain.

The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce will hold a hearing Thursday to discuss the energy impact of cryptocurrencies.

Barring a slight uptick in the price of USD Coin, all the top coins saw a plunge. Bitcoin fell 1.73% to $41,347. Ethereum slid 3.91% to $3,064, CoinMarketCap data showed. WazirX Trade Desk predicts a bearish cycle for Ethereum with the next immediate support at $2,730, the Indian exchange told International Business Times.

Cardano, which saw a hike in price in recent weeks, tanked over 10%. Meme cryptos Shiba Inu and Dogecoin too dipped.

According to industry experts, the red dominance on the crypto charts is linked to Congress mulling ways to tighten crypto mining efforts in the country given its high power consumption.

"In the lead up to the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s hearing on the energy use in cryptocurrency and blockchain, we may expect the crypto market to face greater uphill battles and continue its mixed performance should the US follow the footsteps of other countries that have tightened their reins over crypto mining," CoinDCX research team told International Business Times.

However, the crypto exchange hopes to see more energy-efficient alternatives to take the stage in shaping the industry in the future.

Meanwhile, NFT marketplace OpenSea has acquired Ethereum wallet-maker Dharma Labs in a move to speed up the adoption of NFTs and Web3. Dharma Labs co-founder Nadav Hollander will take charge as OpenSea's chief technology officer.

The crypto market is extremely volatile and experts recommend investors not make decisions based on the sudden shift in prices.