After a rough year for the crypto market, it seemed as though 2023 would turn to form. The bubble of 2021 was phenomenal and is what really brought crypto to the forefront for a lot of people, giving birth to a lot of first-time investors and even leading to the creation of some of the biggest names in the top 100 now. But by the next year – or even slightly before that – it started to seem like it was already the grand opening, grand closing. That said, the losses made were never too dire and things had begun to look good at the start of the year. Many tokens closed January on a high note with price surges, but these victories were short-lived as the market crashed following the conveniently timed announcements of both the US and UK's plans of regulation.

Taking a look at the top two cryptocurrencies by market cap and their different responses to everything that has happened over the last week gives us insight into what could happen not just for them, but the market itself moving forward.

Bitcoin Struggles to Keep Its Crown

Bitcoin (BTC) was hit hard following the news as the undisputed king of crypto. Bitcoin is not only the original cryptocurrency, but it also sits at the top of every token by market cap while being the most valued at $23k. Bitcoin was having quite the start to the year, with a spike of 50% by the end of January, leading to much-needed bullish behavior. But it was specifically this value that has faced both ups and downs in the face of the news. Previously peaking over $24k, it wasn't able to hold and soon enough fell back down to $23k, but things seemed hopeful as it managed to hold there for a while. This was until the 7th of February well it fell further. It is only slightly below 23 and is in a constant state of attempting to get back there, but this drop has brought a lot of eyes to Bitcoin after moves made by the US Federal Reserve. Jerome Powell, the chairperson, made a profound speech that undoubtedly resulted in this loss.

Ethereum Perseveres

Ethereum (ETH) saw a 30% surge in January and actually managed to recover quite quickly as the rest of the market tried to recoup after the crash. Specifically spiking 4.5% compared to the previous week, it has done a good job of maintaining its momentum. If it can maintain this current price rally it's very likely that it can break past the ceiling that was built above it in 2022. There are many different explanations that could be made for the pace of Ethereum's value growth, such as its upcoming upgrade that will allow staked tokens to be withdrawn easily and the news of Visa starting a test of payments on Ethereum's blockchain. That is big news for the future of Crypto as it will continue bringing it into the average person's everyday life in the same way physical currency is.

It's still early in the year and just as things changed with the regulation announcements, things can and will continue to change for crypto. That said, it doesn't have to be a negative as shown by Ethereum recovering and holding nicely. It is likely that crypto will grow once again this year following other bullish announcements such as the aforementioned Visa one as well as certain moves from other altcoins. Bitcoin on the other hand is in a pivotal position depending on which direction it moves in. Should it be able to recover and hit another high like it was initially doing this year, it would lead the pendulum swinging back in the market's favor.