The bitcoin exchange rate has collapsed to $ 19,500, and the ether has buried itself at a rather important support level of $ 1,450, on which a lot depends. But before we talk about the technical picture, I would like to say a few words about the recent speech of the US Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, Gary Gensler. He said yesterday that cryptocurrencies sent for staking might be subject to federal securities regulations, repeating the previously voiced position of the commission after the transition of Ethereum to PoS.

Gensler noted that proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains, which generate new coins for their creators by combining their assets, have all the attributes that coincide with investment contracts, which forces the SEC to assume full control over these instruments. And although Gensler did not talk specifically about specific blockchains, he hinted that now the agency will take over the ether.

However, the comments that appeared a few hours after Ethereum's transition to PoS indicate that an important technical update may have more serious consequences for the second most popular blockchain than just reducing its energy consumption.

The head of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Rostin Behnam, also spoke about the cryptocurrency market. As provided in the Senate legislation, he has already instructed his agency to prepare to become the main, fully funded regulator of most of the crypto market. "Market volatility and its impact on retail customers, which can only worsen in the current macroeconomic environment, underscores the need for clarity in regulation and market protection," Behnam said. The bill promoted by the committee's leaders on the creation of new rules for the crypto industry states that the knowledge and experience of the CFTC make it a suitable regulator for the digital asset market.

According to experts, this will not allow the agency to determine which tokens it will control while still giving the courts and the Securities and Exchange Commission freedom of action. But despite this, Behnam praised the law and his plan for additional funding for the agency, which will allow the CFTC to act quickly to establish new oversight of digital commodity assets.

As for today's technical picture of bitcoin, after yesterday's regular decline below the level of $20,000, the bulls were no longer able to compensate for the losses. The focus is now on the near resistance of $ 20,000, the return of which is "like air" needed in the near future. In the case of a breakout in this area, you can see a dash up to $20,540 and $21,140. To build a larger upward trend, you must break above the resistance levels of $21,840 and $22,520. If the pressure on bitcoin continues, and most likely it will, the bulls should make every effort to protect the support of $19,520, which has been tested recently. Its breakdown will quickly push the trading instrument back to $19,100 and pave the way for an update of the $18,625 level.

ETH tried to hold onto the $1,640 level after switching to PoS but abruptly lost ground. The immediate task of buyers in the current conditions is to return to control of the resistance at $ 1,500, which will be quite difficult to get above. Its breakdown will stabilize the market direction and a small correction in the $ 1,550. The more distant targets will be the $1,630 and $1,680 areas. While maintaining pressure on the trading instrument and breaking through the rather important support of $1,440, this will push the ether to $1,350 and $1,270, where major players will once again manifest themselves in the market.