Markets

Solana ETF Faces Headwinds Under Current Management

Published

10 months ago

28 June, 2024

Crypto Analysts: Solana ETF Faces Hurdles Under Current Administration

VanEck, a leading global investment firm expanding into cryptocurrency, has registered to develop an exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of Solana’s native coin. This move marks the first attempt to create a Solana ETF in the United States, capitalizing on the SEC’s recent authorization of Ethereum-based securities. However, there is pessimism about the approval of a SOL ETF under the current administration.

Haseeb Qureshi, a partner at Dragonfly Capital, said: “There is no way to do this; I suspect it’s buying goodwill and preparing the ground to get the ball rolling. But the SEC has explicitly stated that it believes SOL is a security. This administration will not back down.”

This was echoed by Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart, who stated in X that the fund “only has a chance to launch sometime in 2025 if we have a new administration in the White House and the SEC.” Even so, there is no certainty.”

Regulatory obstacles

The SEC’s previous concerns about market manipulation and surveillance in spot cryptocurrency markets have delayed approvals of cryptocurrency ETFs, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. These same concerns pose a major hurdle to the approval of the Solana ETF.

According to blockchain expert Ogle, while Solana may be less decentralized than Ethereum in some ways, the issue is not “binary.” “From a regulator’s perspective, it might come down to where on the spectrum each is (or where each is going) to determine whether they should be viewed equally,” he told me.

Solana developer and Helius co-founder Mert Mumtaz argued that while Ethereum may be more decentralized, Solana is still among the most decentralized networks, ranking in the top 1%. It views SOL as a necessary commodity for prioritizing transactions, obtaining network bandwidth through staking, allocating storage, and paying network fees.

Surveillance concerns

The SEC previously delayed authorizing a spot bitcoin ETF for a decade due to concerns over market surveillance rules in cryptocurrency markets, as ruled by a court, which criticized its reasoning as “arbitrary and capricious.”

Qureshi noted that there was a stronger argument that ETFs based on BTC and ETH met the SEC’s market surveillance standards because these assets traded in developed futures markets. He added: “They will not be able to meet market surveillance standards without the futures market listed.”

Jake Chervinsky, General Counsel at Variant Fund he said“I think the SEC will point to the lack of a futures market to justify the denial.”

VanEck’s Strategic Approach

Columbia Business School’s Austin Campbell doubts VanEck’s application for a bitcoin ETF will be approved, suggesting his goal is to be early in the game. Analysts like Seyffart question whether other companies will quickly follow, as seen after BlackRock’s similar move in mid-2023.

“That seems like a medium-term bet to me, given the time frames on these things,” according to Campbell.

VanEck intends to waive fees for your Ethereum ETF to establish itself as a leading provider of cryptocurrency ETFs. Despite likely legal challenges, many legal experts believe that multiple ETFs will eventually be permitted, which could require a change in management.

Election Issue: The Growing Importance of Cryptography

Cryptocurrency has become a significant election issue, with predictions that Donald Trump’s support for the industry could boost its popularity. A DCG-funded poll shows one in five voters sees encryption as crucial in elections.

The political dimension adds complexity, with crypto becoming an increasingly significant electoral issue. Experts speculate that regulatory changes or changes in administration could impact the ETF approval timeline.

Scott Johnsson of Van Buren Capital suggests VanEck’s filing could hurt President Biden’s standing due to perceptions of his administration’s anti-crypto stance. He sees VanEck’s move as strategic, aimed at challenging the SEC’s crypto regulatory approach, despite the expected denial.

University of Kentucky law professor Brian Frye said: “It appears that the SEC will give final approval to ETH ETFs very soon, so I think final approval of Solana ETFs is inevitable (assuming the market holds up). , because from a regulatory perspective, ETH and Solana are basically identical.”

Brian Frye notes delays in ETF approvals due to slow SEC processes and a lack of leadership enthusiasm toward crypto, despite feeling compelled to approve them eventually.

While the path to approval remains uncertain, stakeholders and industry analysts continue to monitor developments that could reshape regulatory frameworks and open new avenues for cryptocurrency investments in traditional financial markets.

Read too: VanEck seeks Solana ETF in the US and calls SOL a commodity

Source

Markets

Crypto Markets Rebound as Spot Bitcoin ETFs Attract Massive Inflows

Published

9 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%.

Source

Markets

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

Published

9 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.

Source

Markets

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

Published

9 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.

Source

Markets

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

Published

9 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