Alexander Grieve, Paradigm’s VP of Government Affairs, detailed what is wrong with the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) policies.

It marks the second dissection that Paradigm, an investment firm known for throwing money behind many of the crypto industry’s mainstays, has made of the infamous securities regulator.

US SEC’s Hand Always Ready To Hit Wells Notice Buzzer

Grieve slams the US SEC for “carpet-bombing” the crypto industry in the name of “investor protection.” This includes issuing Wells Notices against anything value-adding that sprouts in the crypto market.

“Under this Chair, and this Enforcement Director — if you have built anything of value in crypto, you’ve found yourself on the receiving end of a subpoena, a Wells Notice, or an enforcement action/lawsuit, or all three,” Grieve wrote.

Coinbase was one of the victims of regulatory action, receiving a Wells Notice in September 2021 regarding its proposed Lend product, just five months after the SEC approved its business model, products, and IPO. In March 2023, Coinbase received another Wells Notice.

Read more: What Does It Mean To Receive a Wells Notice From the SEC?

Similarly, the SEC sued Kraken over its staking activities, forcing the exchange to relocate those services outside the US and pay a $30 million fine. This occurred despite Kraken settling with the regulator earlier that February.

Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has also faced regulatory scrutiny across its operations. Other cases include actions against Robinhood, Uniswap, ConsenSys, OpenSea, and D.E.B.T. Box.

Regulator Forum Shops and Uses Barbell Approach

Highlighting that the cases against Kraken, Coinbase, and Binance were each filed in different jurisdictions, Paradigm’s Vice President accused the SEC of “forum shopping.” This legal term refers to choosing the most favorable court for a claim. It’s a strategy used by litigants to increase their chances of a favorable outcome.

The Paradigm executive also criticized the SEC’s “barbell” approach to crypto regulation. According to the VP, the SEC targets smaller entities that opt for settlements over legal battles due to limited resources. The regulator then uses these precedents to pursue larger companies, leveraging the initial settlements in subsequent cases.

“This is part of the SEC’s strategy: instead of just focusing on just one single company, they sue a company and allege that all sorts of other companies/projects/tokens/protocols (who may not be able to defend themselves) are securities as part of the case,” Grieve added.

This is not the first time Paradigm has criticized the SEC. BeInCrypto recently reported the venture capitalist’s dissection of Gary Gensler’s tenure chairing the commission. The dissection came after the SEC’s joint testimony revealed 784 enforcement actions in 2023, resulting in $4.9 billion in penalties and disgorgement.

In the research, Paradigm policy manager Brendan Malone detailed that the SEC has taken 171 enforcement actions against the crypto space since 2021. The pace of enforcement escalated since Gensler started leading the commission.

Read more: Crypto Regulation: What Are the Benefits and Drawbacks?

Malone criticized the SEC for using litigation to address policy matters instead of establishing clear regulations. He further condemned the agency for targeting individuals with limited resources, aiming to set precedents on token issuance cases by pressuring them into settlements.

On the same note, Hester Peirce recently admitted to the flaws in SEC crypto policy enforcement, as the agency’s handling of cryptocurrency regulations came under scrutiny before Congress and the Senate Banking Committees last week.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) has faced a rough week, dropping 13% in value. Despite the decline, a group of whales has shown confidence in the leading meme coin, steadily increasing their holdings over the past few weeks.

However, short-term holders (STHs) have been selling off their SHIB, adding downward pressure on the price. This analysis explores why the selling activity from SHIB’s STHs may prevent any significant rally in the short term. 

Shiba Inu Whales Fight Its Short-Term Holders

BeinCrypto’s assessment of Shiba Inu’s supply distribution shows that a cohort of whale investors holding between 10,000 and 100,000 coins has increased their supply over the past few weeks.

Read more: Dogecoin (DOGE) vs Shiba Inu (SHIB): What’s the Difference?

This group of large SHIB holders now controls 3.06 billion SHIB, a 2% increase from the 3.01 billion SHIB they held just a month ago. Their decision to accumulate more tokens may have been driven by SHIB’s undervalued status throughout September, as reflected by its market value to realized value (MVRV) ratio.

According to this metric, SHIB’s 30-day and 90-day MVRV ratios were negative for most of September, suggesting that the coin was trading below its historical value, which may have prompted these whales to buy more coins. 

However, SHIB’s STHs, those who have held their coins for less than 30 days, have taken a more cautious stance. True to their “paper hands” nature, they have been selling off their coins in recent weeks. 

Their selling activity is noteworthy, as STHs tend to be risk-averse, offloading their assets at the slightest sign of trouble. Given that they hold a sizable portion of SHIB’s circulating supply, their selling activity puts substantial downward pressure on the coin’s price.

SHIB Price Prediction: Coin Eyes $0.000010

SHIB’s falling on-balance volume (OBV) reflects the selling activity from SHIB’s STHs. At 24.79 trillion, the meme coin’s OBV, which measures its buying and selling pressure based on trading volume, has maintained a downward trend since the beginning of the month.

A dropping OBV is typically a bearish indicator, suggesting potential downward price movement. When accompanied by a price decline, it points to a lack of buyer support. If demand for SHIB continues to plummet, it could revisit its August 5 low of $0.000010.

Read more: 6 Best Platforms To Buy Shiba Inu (SHIB) in 2024

However, if STHs become bullish and begin to accumulate, it may drive Shiba Inu’s price up by 69% to test the resistance formed at $0.000028.

Ethereum price extended its decline below the $2,350 level. ETH is now recovering from losses and faces a major hurdle near the $2,300 zone.

• Ethereum declined further and traded below the $2,350 zone.
• The price is trading below $2,400 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.
• There is a key bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2,400 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair must clear the $2,400 and $2,420 resistance levels to start a decent increase in the near term.

Ethereum Price Eyes Recovery

Ethereum price remained in a bearish zone and extended losses below the $2,400 level. ETH traded below the $2,350 support to move further in a bearish zone like Bitcoin.

The price even spiked below the $2,320 support level. A low was formed near $2,311 and the price is now consolidating losses. There was a minor increase above the $2,350 level. The price is still below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward wave from the $2,655 swing high to the $2,311 low.

Ethereum price is now trading below $2,400 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. On the upside, the price seems to be facing hurdles near the $2,400 level. There is also a key bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2,400 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD.

A clear move above the trend line resistance might send the price toward the $2,480 resistance. It is close to the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward wave from the $2,655 swing high to the $2,311 low.

An upside break above the $2,480 resistance might call for more gains in the coming sessions. In the stated case, Ether could rise toward the $2,550 resistance zone in the near term. The next hurdle sits near the $2,650 level or $2,665.

Another Decline In ETH?

If Ethereum fails to clear the $2,400 resistance, it could start another decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $2,350 level. The first major support sits near the $2,300 zone.

A clear move below the $2,300 support might push the price toward $2,220. Any more losses might send the price toward the $2,120 support level in the near term. The next key support sits at $2,050.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is losing momentum in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now below the 50 zone.

Major Support Level – $2,300

Major Resistance Level – $2,400