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Crypto advocacy group Coin Center has criticized the latest indictment of two former Tornado Cash developers, arguing that the facts offered don't show any clear violations of money-transmitting-related offenses.

Roman Storm and Romen Semenov were indicted by the United States Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) on Aug. 23 for conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, among other charges.

In a follow-up opinion piece, Coin Center research director Peter Van Valkenburgh argues that the claims in the indictment appear to run counter to guidance from the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network — arguing that Tornado Cash only provides the software to transmit money, rather than transmitting the money itself.

"The only thing the indictment claims regarding the defendants’ unlicensed money transmission is that they 'engaged in the business of transferring funds on behalf of the public' and did so without registering with FinCEN," wrote Valkenburgh.

But does the indictment state any facts that actually show that the defendants engaged in any activities that qualify as money transmission under the relevant law?

When the markets are trending, traders should be active if they want to earn money. On the other hand, in a ranging market, it is better to wait on the sidelines with patience or traders may lose money due to choppy random moves in either direction.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) sideways price action since the sharp fall on Aug. 17 shows that the bulls and the bears are unsure about the next directional move. Therefore, it is better to wait for the breakout to happen before waging large bets.

In the short term, institutional traders also seem to be taking a cautious approach. A CoinShares report showed an outflow of $55 million from digital asset investment products for the week of Sept. 13.

What are the important support and resistance levels that need to be crossed for a trending move to start in Bitcoin and altcoins? Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

Bitcoin price analysis

The long tail on Bitcoin’s Aug. 22 candlestick is a positive sign as it shows that the bulls are fiercely trying to protect the support at $24,800.

The cryptocurrency market has experienced a notable downturn recently, with the total market capitalization falling by 10% between August 14 and August 23, reaching its lowest point in over two months at $1.04 trillion. This movement has triggered significant liquidations on futures contracts, the largest since the FTX collapse in November 2022. 

Several economic factors have contributed to this decline. As interest rates have surpassed the 5% mark and inflation remains above the targeted 2%, finance costs for both families and businesses have risen, placing pressure on consumer spending and economic expansion. That causes less money available for savings and could force people to let go of their investments just to cover monthly bills.

Since inflation expectations for 2024 stands at 3.6% and average hourly earnings increased by 5.5% year-over-year, at the fastest pace since 2020, the Federal Reserve (Fed) is likely to maintain or even raise interest rates in the coming months. Consequently, a high interest rate scenario favors fixed-income investments, which is detrimental for cryptocurrencies.

Inflation has receded from its peak of 9% to the current 3%, while the S&P 500 index is only 9% below its all-time high. This could indicate a "soft landing" orchestrated by the Federal Reserve, suggesting that the likelihood of an extended and profound recession is diminishing, temporarily undermining Bitcoin's investment thesis as a hedge.

Factors emerging from the cryptocurrency industry

Investor expectations had been high for the approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), particularly with heavyweight endorsements from BlackRock and Fidelity. However, these hopes were dashed as the SEC continued to delay its decision, citing concerns over insufficient safeguards against manipulation. Complicating matters, a substantial volume of trading continues to occur on non-regulated offshore exchanges based in stablecoins, raising questions about the authenticity of market activity.