The crypto market has recovered a lot of the losses sustained in 2022, with BTC rising by over 80% YTD and many altcoins performing even better. This led to questions and analysis within the community about whether the bear market is over and the industry is preparing for yet another bull cycle.

Moreover, the BTC halving is scheduled to take place in less than a year, which is typically regarded as a catalyst for upcoming price increases. However, the recent developments from the US Securities and Exchange Commission could suggest that the agency might also have a role in a potential bull market.

The SEC Impact

Being among the most powerful regulators within the world’s largest economy, the SEC’s actions frequently have a direct impact on a relatively small market like crypto. As such, when the Commission decided to go after Ripple in late 2020, as well as Coinbase and Binance, a few months ago, it harmed most digital assets’ prices almost immediately.

While this doesn’t sound all that surprising that the SEC’s lawsuits could hurt projects and companies, there’s also the opposite angle. We saw it earlier this week when Judge Analisa Torres, presiding over the agency’s case against Ripple, ruled in favor of the blockchain project, indicating that almost all XRP sales did not constitute security transactions, something that the SEC has been trying to prove for years.

The judge’s decision had an immediate and massive impact not only on XRP’s price but many other altcoins, which the SEC alleged to be unregistered securities.

Consequently, it’s safe to assume that the entire market could further surge should the agency lose its ongoing battles with the likes of Coinbase and Binance – two of the industry’s most prominent players.

Spot Bitcoin ETF

The other aspect on which the SEC’s actions have a direct impact is whether the US will (ever) have a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded