Markets
Cryptocurrency Markets Recover After Failed Donald Trump Assassination Attempt
The optimism is also driven by expectations that the SEC will approve spot Ether ETFs this week.
Cryptocurrency markets rallied on Monday following a failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) is up 4% over the past 24 hours to last change hands at $62,000, according to CoinGecko. Ethereum (ETH) is up 3.9% and is trading at $3,334. Polkadot (POINT) and Solana (SUN) rose 1% and 3% respectively.
Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap, Mog Coin (MOG) is up 15%, followed by Pendle (PENDLE) with a 14% increase and Stacks (STX) with 12%.
Sunday’s attacks on Trump came just days before he is set to accept the Republican nomination for the third time, AP says reported.
Cryptocurrency trading firm QCP Capital said in a note on Monday that the rally appears to be caused by the market pricing in a Trump victory in the upcoming presidential election.
“..This is positive for cryptocurrency prices because of his openly pro-crypto stance,” said QCP Capital he wrote in its market update. “We thought the market was already positioned for a rally with the German government having exhausted its supply and also with large hedge funds aggressively buying calls last week. Trump was the perfect trigger for a market eager to go long.”
On crypto betting platform Polymarket, Trump’s winning bet has reached an all-time high, currently standing at 71%, while Biden’s is at 18%.
Trump-themed coin MAGA is up 80% in the past 7 days and TREMP has soared 21% to $0.45. Meanwhile, BODEN, a meme coin named after Joe Biden, is down about 3% in the past 7 days.
ETH ETF Approval
The optimism in the crypto market also stems from expectations that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve Ether spot ETFs this week. Issuers such as VanEck and 21Shares have amended their S-1 filings, awaiting final approval from the SEC. In total, eight issuers are awaiting regulatory approval to list their Ether spot ETFs.
Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, referred to this week as “ETH ETF approval week.”
“Welcome to ETH ETF approval week… I’m calling it,” he he said. “I don’t know anything specific, I just can’t think of a good reason for further delay at this point. The emitters are ready to launch.”
Last week, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said he was puzzled by the lack of activity regarding Ethereum ETFs, noting that the SEC had not provided any updates.
“Yes, [right now] all is quiet on the Western Front[garding] ETH ETFs. Nothing (Nothing) from the SEC this week,” he he said. “It is not clear why they [are] taking so long. Every issuer is ready. The documents are ready. It’s like a rain delay in baseball. I just have to wait. Maybe things will move quickly next week.”
Market Entries
According to Currency ActionsInflows into digital asset investment products hit $1.44 billion last week, bringing total inflows for the year to a record $17.8 billion. That’s up from $10.6 billion in inflows recorded in 2021.
Despite the high inflows, trading volumes were relatively low, totaling $8.9 billion for the week, compared to the annual average of $21 billion. Bitcoin recorded its fifth-largest weekly inflow on record, with $1.35 billion.
“A wide range of altcoins saw inflows, the most notable being Ethereum, which saw $72 million in inflows last week, the largest inflows since March and likely in anticipation of the imminent approval of the US spot ETF,” James Butterfill, head of research at investment firm CoinShares, wrote in a blog post.
CoinGlass reported that in the last 24 hours, 41,184 traders were liquidated, totaling $129.69 million in liquidations.
Meanwhile, stock futures also traded higher as investors awaited remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Monday. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures and S&P 500 futures rose 0.6%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.4%.