Markets

Ether Soars 23% as SEC Reevaluates ETH ETF Approval After Trump Turns Pro-Crypto

Published

8 months ago

21 May, 2024

Ether Soars 23% as SEC Reevaluates ETH ETF Approval After Trump Turns Pro-Crypto

(Kitco News) – Cryptocurrency prices have risen over the past 24 hours amid an about-face from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is now considering approval of several Ethereum points (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) after months of doubts and delays.

In recent months, analysts have reached a consensus that approval of a spot Ether ETF was unlikely as the SEC has shown little engagement with the applicants, while SEC officials have repeatedly said they consider Ether a security.

But with the US election season underway and crypto becoming a trending topic – with Donald Trump warning that Democrats attack the industry while he would welcome it with open arms – the SEC appears to be re-evaluating its approach and is now struggling to secure approval for ETFs.

On Monday, CoinDesk reported that the SEC had asked Ether ETF applicants to update their 19b-4 filings before this week’s deadline, which was the signal needed to show that the regulator was now serious about evaluating the requests.

After the story broke, Bloomberg ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart Updated its chances of approval from 25% to 75%, with Balchunas saying the move came after “hearing rumors this afternoon that the SEC might be doing a 180 on this (increasingly political issue), so now everyone is scrambling ( like us, everyone assumed they’d be denied).”

Amid resistance from some over the radical increase in the chances of approval, analyst Nic Carter came to the defense of Balchunas and Seyffart, tweeting, “How could anyone predict that Trump would endorse crypto and the Democrats would throw a Hail Mary and pivot? This was not predictable.”

Since reports of the turnaround emerged, several asset managers have updated their filings to remove any language related to Ether staking, which was the main issue in the debate over whether Ether is a security and a commodity.

Fidelity was one of the first to adjust its request, filing an S-1 to update on Tuesday morning, showing that they have reversed plans to stake Ether holdings in their proposed spot ETF. In previous filings, the company said it intended to “stake a portion of the trust’s assets” to “one or more” infrastructure providers, but in the update, the company clearly states that it “would not stake the ether” stored with the custodian.

Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital Research, he said the SEC is trying to “blur the line between ‘ETH’ NOT being a security and ‘staking ETH’ (or even more fragile, ‘staking as an ETH service’) as BEING a security.”

“This would be somewhat congruent with its various lawsuits, as well as reports on its various investigations, and would perhaps allow the SEC to approve Ethereum ETFs while maintaining its previously stated/argued views,” he added. “In this case, and perhaps for other reasons, we would expect the SEC to prohibit ETFs from staking the ETH they hold.”

There are now nine Ether ETF applications pending with the SEC, with VanEck and ARK filings due for final review on May 23 and 24, respectively.

Here is a list of all participants at the venue #Ethereal ETF rush. The ‘ETHness Bets’

(h/t to @LongTailFinance for name) pic.twitter.com/ZBQVJ6ppKp

-James Seyffart (@JSeyff) May 20, 2024

According to Joseph Edwards, head of research at Enigma Securities, the SEC’s decision to take a hardline stance against Ether ETFs after approving spot Bitcoin (Bitcoin) ETFs seemed out of step with how things are normally done.

“Opposing the ETH ETF after BTC was approved always seemed like an odd case for the SEC to try to push unless they were willing to open up questions about the status of Ethereum securities more broadly, and it is likely that the decision has come somewhere not to accept this fight”, Edwards counted Reuters.

Geoff Kendrick, head of FX and digital asset research at Standard Chartered, told Forbes India that they are “80% to 90%” certain that the SEC will approve spot Ether ETFs later this week. He added that the bank anticipates first-year inflows into spot Ether ETFs to be between 2.39 and 9.15 million Ether, or about $15 billion to $45 billion.

They also believe that any bad news is already priced in for both Bitcoin and Ether and “positive structural factors” are expected to take control again, which led Kendrick to reiterate the bank’s year-end price targets of US$ 150,000 for Bitcoin and $8,000 for Bitcoin. Ether.

But according to for Seyffart, although approval of 19-4b applications could occur on May 23, “We also need S-1 approvals. It could be weeks or months before we see S-1 approvals and thus an active ETH ETF. That said, if we are correct and we see these theoretical approvals later this week. This *should* mean that S-1 approvals are a matter of ‘When’ and not ‘If’…”

The sudden increase in approval odds gave a shot of adrenaline to the price of Ether, which rose from $3,115 on Monday to a high of $3,837 in early trading on Tuesday, an increase of 23.1% .

Ethereum/USD Chart by TradingView

At the time of writing, Ether was trading at $3,785, up 22.2% on the 24-hour chart, while Bitcoin was trading at $70,215, up 4.95%.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes. This is not a request to carry out any exchange of goods, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article accept no liability for loss and/or damage arising from the use of this publication.

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Markets

Crypto Markets Rebound as Spot Bitcoin ETFs Attract Massive Inflows

Published

6 months ago

17 July, 2024

FinCrypt Staff

Crypto Markets Rebound Ahead of Early Ethereum ETF Approval

This week saw $722 million worth of Bitcoin spot ETF inflows, including the largest daily inflow in a month.

Cryptocurrency markets rallied on Wednesday, driven by inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) is up 3% over the past 24 hours to last change hands at $65,200, according to CoinGecko. Ethereum (ETH) is up 2% and is trading at $3,471. Solana (SUN) and Polkadot (POINT) increased by 4%.

Bitcoin spot ETFs saw $422 million in daily inflows on Tuesday, the highest in the past 30 days, according to Far side data, . The all-time record for a single day was $1.05 billion on March 12.

Among Tuesday’s top contributors, BlackRock’s IBIT led with $260 million in inflows, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC with $61 million. This week has already seen more than $722 million in inflows.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap, Worldcoin (WLD) led with a 28% increase, followed by Helium (HNT) with 20% and Lido DAO (LDO) with 15%.

Worldcoin, a decentralized identity project led by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, announced is extending the lockups for early investors and team members. This means that tokens will be gradually released through 2029, instead of the original 2027 plan. Token unlocks are generally seen as a negative because they increase supply and early investors can sell their tokens for profit.

Meanwhile, XRP, the token of the XRP Ledger network, jumped 8% after the CME and CF benchmarks introduced new indices and reference rates for XRP.

U.S. stocks faced a downturn on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average both fell 2%.

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Markets

Altcoins on the cusp of a major breakout – WLD, AR, and INJ prices could surge by 20% in the coming days

Published

6 months ago

17 July, 2024

FinCrypt Staff

Altcoins on the cusp of a major breakout – WLD, AR, and INJ prices could surge by 20% in the coming days

Crypto markets appear to have been taken over by the bulls as major tokens have surged above their crucial resistance zone. Bitcoin surged above $65,000 while Ethereum was above $3,500, and XRP, which had remained passive for quite some time, surged over 40% in the past few days to hit $0.6. The uptrend has been captured in most altcoins, with Worldcoin (WLD), Arweave (AR), and Injective (INJ) leading the rally. Here’s what to expect for these tokens in the coming days.

Worldcoin (WLD) Price Analysis

O Worldcoin Price has been trading inside a descending wedge since it marked a new ATH near $12 in the final days of Q1 2024. The recent price action helped the price break out of the upper resistance of the wedge, breaking above the crucial resistance zone between $2.21 and $2.39. Market sentiments have changed, but technicals suggest that the bulls may remain passive for a while, which could offer some room for a bearish pullback.

The price broke out of the wedge with a significant increase in volume, but the current volume suggests that the bulls have taken a step back. Meanwhile, the RSI is about to reach the upper boundary, which could attract bearish forces. Additionally, the DMI has undergone a bullish crossover, but the decline in the ADX suggests that the rally may remain consolidated above the gains. Therefore, the WLD price is expected to maintain a horizontal consolidation between $3 and $3.3 and trigger a fresh rally to $4.4 during the next bullish rally.

Arweave (AR) Price Analysis

Arweave formed a strong base around $25, which helped the rally trigger a recovery during the bearish attack. Mt. Gox and German terror forced the price to fall below $20. However, the recent price action has brought the altcoin within the bullish range and raised expectations of maintaining a decent uptrend for a few more days.

AR price has hit one of the major resistances around $30 to $31.5, which could act as a strong base once overcome. The buying volume is slowly increasing, which could keep the bullish hopes for the rally high. Moreover, the supertrend has just flashed a buy signal, indicating a clean reversal of the trend. Therefore, AR price seems primed to maintain a healthy uptrend and rally above $40. However, if the bulls maintain a similar trend, making new highs above $50 may not be a tedious task for the bulls.

Price Analysis of Injective (INJ)

Injective price has been showing sharp strength since the beginning of the year and hence, the recent turnaround is expected to revive a good uptrend going forward. The bears engulfed the rally to a large extent, but the recent price action suggests that the bulls have regained their dominance. Therefore, INJ price is expected to maintain a strong uptrend with a bearish interference on the way down.

INJ price has surged above the lower support zone and has registered consecutive bullish candles. Although the volume is below the required levels, the OBV is maintaining a sharp uptrend. Furthermore, the Ichimoku cloud lead span B is heading towards the lead span A and a healthy crossover indicates the start of a new uptrend. However, INJ price may be out of the bears’ reach once it secures the resistance zone between $30.77 and $32.12, which seems to be on the horizon.

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Markets

Ethereum at $3.5K, Exchange Supply Hits 34-Month High

Published

6 months ago

17 July, 2024

FinCrypt Staff

Ethereum at $3.5K, Exchange Supply Hits 34-Month High

Ethereum (ETH) supply on exchanges has hit a 34-month high as the asset’s price surpassed the $3,500 mark.

ETH has risen 2.3% over the past 24 hours and is trading at $3,490 at the time of writing. The second-largest cryptocurrency — with a market cap of $419 billion — briefly touched an intraday high of $3,517 earlier today.

ETH Price, Whale Activity, RSI, and Exchange Supply – July 17 | Source: Santiment

Ethereum’s daily trading volume also increased by 7.6% to reach $19.8 billion.

According to data provided by Santiment, the supply of Ethereum on exchanges has reached $19.52 million ETH. This level was last seen in September 2021, when the asset was trading around the same price.

On the other hand, data from the market intelligence platform shows that the number of whale transactions has fallen by 12% in the last day — falling from 8,730 to 7,629 unique transactions per day.

The move shows that the supply of Ethereum on exchanges has been increasing with small deposits rather than large transactions from whales.

Additionally, the ETH Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently hovering at the 60-mark, per Santiment. The indicator shows that Ethereum is slightly overbought at this price point, but it may not be in a critical position due to its large market cap.

One of the main drivers of Ethereum price increase is ETH spot expectations ETFs in the US Investment products are scheduled to start trading on July 23rd.

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Markets

Bits + Beeps: How to Play the ‘Trump Trade’ in Cryptocurrencies After the Assassination Attempt

Published

6 months ago

17 July, 2024

FinCrypt Staff

Bits + Bips: How to Play the ‘Trump Trade’ in Crypto After the Assassination Attempt

Also, how much will the Fed cut rates (and when)? What will be the inflows into ETH ETFs? And what is the near future for Bitcoin?

Posted on July 17, 2024 at 12:00 PM EST.

Listen to the episode at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Capsules, Source, Podcast Addict, Pocket molds, Amazon Musicor on your favorite podcast platform.

In this episode of Bits + Bips, hosts James Seyffart, Alex Kruger and Joe McCann, joined by guest Jack Platts, dive into the market reaction to the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, analyzing how this event will influence the 2024 US presidential election and the cryptocurrency markets.

They also cover potential rate cuts: Could there be a cut in July? How big could the September rate cut be? Could the decision be influenced by the upcoming election?

They also give their predictions on what percentage of BTC ETF inflows the ETH ETFs will reach, and James talks about what he expects for Grayscale’s ETHE (hint: his outlook would be positive for ETH).

Finally, they delve into what’s next for Bitcoin as the German government runs out of BTC and Mt. Gox distributions begin. Just now?

Program Highlights:

Whether Trump’s shooting decided the election and whether the event caused a “flight to safety”
How election markets are becoming a place to watch election probabilities and whether cryptocurrencies “lean right”
Whether rate cuts will occur in July or September and by how much they will cut: 25 bps or 50 bps
How Joe sees the relationship between global liquidity cycles, rate cuts, and the potential rise of Bitcoin
What are the new updates about Ethereum ETFs and their expected launch?
Why Solana Hasn’t Performed Significantly Better Since Trump News
What Market Breadth Indicates About the Current Market Rally and the Impact of Rates on Small Caps
Everyone’s predictions on ETH ETF inflows and how much outflow we’ll see on Grayscale’s ETHE
What’s Next for BTC After German Government Exits Bitcoin and Mt. Gox Giveaways Starting This Week