Today in crypto, Bitcoin fell below $119,000 on Thursday after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the government will not make new BTC purchases to fund a Bitcoin reserve, dampening market sentiment just hours after Bitcoin hit a new record high of over $124,000, and Google Play unveiled new rules for wallet providers but exempted non-custodial wallets.
Bitcoin drops below $119,000 after US Treasury secretary rules out new BTC buys
Bitcoin dropped below a key support level Thursday after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the government had no plans to make additional purchases of Bitcoin for its Bitcoin and digital asset reserve.
Bitcoin (BTC) fell below the $120,000 psychological support level and traded at $118,730 at the time of writing, hours after hitting an all-time high of $124,457 earlier on Thursday, Cointelegraph data showed.
The decline followed Bessent’s comments in an interview with Fox Business, where he confirmed the government would not buy more Bitcoin.
“We’ve also started to get into the 21st century, a Bitcoin reserve. We’re not going to be buying that, but we are going to use confiscated assets and continue to build that up,” Bessent said.
The statement contrasted with President Donald Trump’s earlier executive order directing the government to develop “budget-neutral strategies” for increasing Bitcoin holdings.
In April, Bo Hines, who at the time was a part of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, said the administration was exploring funding options for Bitcoin acquisitions, including tariff revenue and a reevaluation of the Treasury’s gold certificates.
Thursday’s drop came just hours after Bitcoin briefly overtook Google’s $2.4 trillion market capitalization to become the fifth-largest global asset, before optimism faded on the Treasury’s stance.
Samson Mow predicts path ahead as Bitcoin peaks over $124,000
Bitcoin (BTC) climbed to an all-time high of $124,128 just before 12:40 am UTC on Thursday, with long-term Bitcoiner Samson Mow saying it could either continue to surge or trade sideways depending on whether traders rotate into altcoins.
Mow said that Bitcoin could “Godzilla or Omega up, suck all the oxygen out of the room, and altcoins drop 30-40%,” or “alt mania” peaks. He said the latter would trigger a sell-off and BTC would briefly drop before gaining again when altcoins tank.
He added that Bitcoin “will see a pullback because alts are running too hot now,” but will eventually go on to break new all-time highs once the “altcoin mania” passes.
Bitcoin has gained 2.7% in the 24 hours as of early trading on Thursday to trade at $122,250, cooling over 1% from its high, according to CoinGecko.
Google Play sets new licensing rules on crypto wallet developers
Google Play will require crypto wallet providers in over 15 jurisdictions, including the United States and the European Union, to get licenses and comply with “industry standards” under an updated policy. The revision does not affect non-custodial wallets.
According to Google Play’s policy notice, the changes take effect Oct. 29. Developers in the US will need to register with local regulators as either a money services business or money transmitter, while those in the EU must register as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP).
In the US, companies registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as money services businesses must meet specific requirements, including implementing a written Anti-Money Laundering program. This could lead to broader adoption of Know Your Customer checks and other measures.
Google addressed concerns over the policy impact on X following backlash from the crypto community, stating: “Non-custodial wallets are not in scope of Google Play’s Cryptocurrency Exchanges and Software Wallets Policy. We are updating the Help Center to make this clear.”
