Bitcoin remained steady late Wednesday after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first-ever spot bitcoin ETFs to trade in the U.S. The cryptocurrency managed to recover from earlier losses and was trading flat at $46,671.22, as per Coin Metrics. Concurrently, the price of ether surged to a high of 15.5% to $2,606.00, its highest level since May 2022, and was last up 14.5% at $2,586.54.
The ETF approval marks a significant milestone for the crypto industry, which has been attempting to launch a bitcoin ETF for over a decade. The optimism has been growing since Grayscale’s legal victory against the SEC in August over the regulator’s refusal to allow it to convert its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an ETF. Since then, the price of the flagship cryptocurrency has risen by 80%.
Following the SEC’s decision, bitcoin initially dipped, as many traders had anticipated. The volume of inflows into the new funds, once they start trading, is yet to be determined. However, bitcoin ETFs are widely expected to boost the demand and, ultimately, the price of bitcoin.
Chris Martin, head of research at Amberdata, noted that trading volumes across almost every exchange have been increasing in the last 24 hours. He expects this trend to continue throughout the rest of the week. While bitcoin remained steady, mining stocks, which benefit from increases in the bitcoin price and reflect longer-term investor sentiment towards bitcoin, received a significant boost. Iris Energy and CleanSpark surged 6% and 7% respectively in after-hours trading, while Marathon Digital gained 6% and Riot Platforms added 5%.
Meanwhile, ether’s rally boosted other coins in the Ethereum ecosystem. The token tied to Polygon gained 13%, Chainlink advanced 11%, and Uniswap soared 14%. Conor Ryder, head of research at the stablecoin company Ethena Labs, suggested that traders are now focusing on ether in anticipation of the next narrative, an ETH ETF, as ETH appears relatively cheap compared to most other tokens.
The SEC is set to make decisions on spot ETH ETF applications starting in May. BlackRock, Invesco, Ark, and VanEck are among the firms awaiting approval, along with Grayscale, which is looking to convert its existing Ethereum Trust (ETHE) into an ETF.
Ryder added that it’s all about staying ahead of the narratives. Bitcoin has outperformed ether over the last six months due to spot ETF speculation, and ETF approval solidifies that narrative. Meanwhile, ETH has struggled to gain momentum and has underperformed compared to most of the smaller Layer 1s, or blockchain networks, like Solana and Cardano. In 2023, ether lagged behind bitcoin, rising just 90% compared to bitcoin’s 157%.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | North America |
| Countries | |
| Sentiment | positive |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Conor Ryder, Chris Martin |
| Companies | Iris Energy, Amberdata, CleanSpark, Riot Platforms, BlackRock, Invesco, VanEck, Ark, Marathon Digital, Chainlink, Coin Metrics, Uniswap, Ethena Labs, Grayscale, Securities and Exchange Commission, Polygon |
| Currencies | Bitcoin, Chainlink, Uniswap, Lido Staked Ether, Polygon |
| Securities | Iris Energy, CleanSpark, Riot Platforms, BlackRock, Marathon Digital |
