Bitcoin (BITCOMP) is beating a slow retreat at the moment as the price continues to trend down from recent highs.

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The cryptoasset began last week just shy of $30,000 and despite a brief upsurge on Thursday, has trended lower to now trade below $29,500. Ether saw a similar slide last week, having begun above $1,900 but softening across the week to now trade around $1,850.

Although market dynamic in summer months can tend toward volatility with lower trading flows, the recent period has been remarkably calm for top cryptoassets in the market. The softening of the price we’re watching currently suggests investors are looking for positivity to cling to, but with little forthcoming for now it is very much wait and see. 

Ripple looks to the UK for expansion

Ripple (XRP-X), the crypto project behind the XRP token, has said it is looking to expand into the UK, not long after it won a court battle in the US against regulators. Comments from the firm’s European MD in DL News suggest the firm is looking for a UK license with the FCA. 

The move underscores the importance of regulatory developments both in the UK and EU, which now have some of the clearest frameworks in the world for the crypto sector to operate within. The firm is also looking to acquire a payments license in Ireland. 

We’ve seen a slow but clear trickle of crypto firms moving to base themselves, or at least have an outpost, in the UK or EU in recent months. What is clear is that the crypto sector has undergone some major changes in the past year, but is now looking toward a new regulation-first future as it develops mainstream products and technologies. 

Dormant bitcoin whale awakens

A crypto wallet holding some $31 million-worth of bitcoin has woken up after an 11-year sleep. The stash of around 1,037 bitcoins has been untouched since 2012, when each token was worth around $4.92 or $5,108 in total.

Whale movements such as these tend to be pored over by the crypto community looking for signs of movement in the market. But although it is a substantial amount of bitcoin, it is by no means a market mover, nor does it presage anything else.

It is notable though that such a large amount has sat untouched for so long. It reaffirms that the long-term approach is best for cryptoassets and investing in general. Other long-dormant wallets have been on the move recently, but according to Glassnode data, around 55% of bitcoin’s supply hasn’t moved in at least two years. 

Musk to rebrand Twitter

Although not explicitly crypto, Elon Musk has long had a tendency to move the market with his pronouncements. The most recent development is that the eccentric billionaire is going to rebrand Twitter to “X” as he looks to rebuild it as his long-dreamed of “everything app.”

This does have implications for crypto in the short-term as it moves markets, and in the long-term as Musk looks to build out payment networks using his own platform that could soon compete with the likes of Ethereum, bitcoin or others. 

Watchers won’t have missed the news either that bitcoin payments have seemingly been quietly dropped from Tesla, despite dogecoin remaining. While the market reads the tea leaves of Musk’s choices, its better for investors not to become distracted by short-term events and focus on the longer and wider trends. 

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