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Cryptocurrencies just became a political football and ether is the first winner
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Cryptocurrencies are quickly becoming an election issue and Ethereum is the biggest winner so far.
Monday to Tuesday, ether (ETH-USD) jumped 21% – the best two-day run since January 2021.
But just before the giant surge, the outlook for the next big cryptocurrency rally had become shaky.
The government has calmed down in approving a series of spot ether ETFs. Enthusiasm for a similar range of bitcoin ETFs has likely reignited the whole crypto space late last year and has provided continued momentum throughout this year.
The idea was that widely available crypto ETFs would facilitate the adoption of cryptocurrencies by latecomers. Less cryptocurrency-savvy investors could then allocate a “responsible” portion of their 401k to the new ETFs.
Jim Bianco of Bianco Research, right poured cold water on that theory, but it looked like spot ether ETFs wouldn’t even get a chance to test the theory. The Securities and Exchange Commission – responsible for overseeing the registration process – had remained silent to ETF sponsors as a key deadline approached.
Then “the game changed” writes Antonio Pompliano in the Letter of the Pompe.
On Monday, Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart spoke out of the blue have increased their chances of spot ether ETF approval to 75% from 25% after “hearing rumors that the SEC may do a 180 on this (increasingly political) issue.”
Suddenly, the the wheels of bureaucracy improbably began to turn againand the ether price surge was underway.
Matt Hogan, chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management, joined Yahoo Finance’s Market Domination on Wednesday to discuss the developments.
“There has been a real sea change in Washington regarding cryptocurrencies,” he said, emphasizing recent bipartisan legislation on cryptocurrencies and a new coalition emerging around stablecoins.
“It appears that Washington has gotten the message that cryptocurrencies are good for America and that they are popular with American voters,” he said.
Pomp pointed out that just a week earlier Trump had declared himself a pro-crypto candidate.
Whether the SEC upset is related or not, cryptocurrency bulls have been reinvigorated by the prospect of cryptocurrency voters being courted on both sides of the aisle.
“A group of people on the Internet have created a $2.6 trillion industry despite government pressure. Imagine what happens when the government now actively courts these individuals and companies, as well as embracing the technology. The headwind quickly becomes a tailwind,” Pompa wrote.
The story continues
Spoken like a real bull.
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