Crypto week wrap: Industry celebrates Bitcoin ETF approval

In a watershed moment for the crypto industry, the Securities and Exchange Commission greenlighted the first US Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund to start trading. Trading under the BITO ticker symbol, ProShare’s fund allows investors to buy Bitcoin without actually buying it on a crypto exchange. The ETF posted a 2.59% daily rise to close at $41.94 per share on its first day of trading.

The launch is the culmination of a nearly decade-long campaign by the ETF industry. The SEC rejected previous applications, citing concerns over insufficient liquidity and that BTC’s extreme volatility might cause sharp losses to retail investors.

Meanwhile, Grayscale, the world’s biggest digital asset manager, has filed for a spot bitcoin-based ETF. Grayscale’s ETF would be backed by actual units of the cryptocurrency, not via futures.

Central banks are wary of bitcoin as it could dismantle the global banking system. Thus, Bank of England's deputy governor Jon Cunliffe warned the crypto market growing by "roughly 200% in 2021" could pose a threat to the financial system if not urgently regulated.

The approval of a Bitcoin ETF is seen as a stepping stone for crypto to become a more traditional financial sector. Bitcoin’s adoption increased up to a whopping 881% in 2021 compared to the previous year. There are now around 15,000 businesses around the globe that accept BTC payments, and 2,000 of them are US-based firms.

BTC hits ATH – How high can it go?

The initial BTC spike last week (Oct 11-17) resulted from traders taking large positions ahead of the imminent SEC’s go-ahead to crypto ETFs.

This week, Bitcoin hit $66,974 on Wednesday, breaking through its previous all-time high of $64,888. This record high coincides with the Bitcoin ETF debuting.

For the past week, BTC's price advanced by 12.2%, with the lowest weekly price coming in at $54,155.4. The weekly highest value of $62,892.8 was briefly touched on Friday. The flagship crypto posted its highest weekly close ever – $61,511.0.

Analysts forecast a strong rally through the rest of 2021. Some go even further with their predictions, promising a “good year” in 2022. Thus, Willy Woo, creator of data resource Woobull noted that a decrease in supply coupled with a lion’s share of it kept in the hands of holders creates a strong bullish signal.

According to crypto analyst TechDev, the current market cycle will peak in mid-December. Based on his estimations, bitcoin will hit $70,000 next week, and then it will skyrocket to $90,000 in November, followed by a retracement to the $60,000 level. And then we’ll see a “parabolic run-up” to a peak of $250,000.

Based on all these signals and the fundamentals, I would say that after the much-anticipated breakthrough of an ATH, BTC is likely heading to $70,000. Further, a pullback could take place. It’s pretty likely that we’ll see the level of $78,000-$85,000 by the end of the year. However, there’s still a high degree of uncertainty with price reacting most strongly to news on bitcoin regulation. Let’s say, if Switzerland eventually makes it part of its constitution, we can expect even $100K by the end of 2021. We need to keep a close eye on the developments.

ETH follows in Bitcoin’s footsteps

The BTC-led rally sparked an increase in ETH price too. Ethereum rose by 12.21% to close the past week at $3,844.69. The volatile past week saw its highest level at $3,967.43 on Friday and the lowest one at $3,381.43 on Monday.

This week, ETH broke above $4K following Bitcoin’s rally to hit its new all-time high of $4,366.09. The trend is undoubtedly bullish, with a higher ETH price expected to follow.

At the time of writing, ETH traded at $4,104.01 with a $482.05 billion market cap.

Other crypto gainers

Zcash is among other best-performing altcoins that rose the most in the week of Oct 11 to 17.

ZEC soared to the weekly highest level of $140.85 on Sunday, before closing at $137.45 with a 14.94% weekly gain and a 1.61 billion market cap.

This week, ZEС continues to rise, trading at $159.53 with a $2.05 billion market cap at the time of writing.

Based on the technical analysis, ZEC price is expected to consolidate above $140.75 by the end of this year. Zcash's highest price in November 2021 is projected at $139.20, with the lowest price level seen at $123.73.

Meanwhile, Litecoin posted a 5.08% gain for the past week, closing at $183.730 on Sunday. The weekly lowest level stood at $166.560, while the highest point of $192.83 was hit on Friday amid the crypto rally across the board.

At the time of writing, LTC traded at $196.82 with a $13.54 billion market cap.

Potential rising altcoin stars

While Bitcoin and Ethereum dominate the cryptocurrency market, other coins are cheered by crypto enthusiasts over their price movements and fundamentals.

Polkadot (DOT):

Polkadot is one of the top choices among traders and investors. DOT price skyrocketed by 464.45% from the previous year’s close.

Currently, the coin is heading to its all-time high of $49.35, which seems to be hit shortly.

Solana (SOL):

Solana is also seen as an up-and-comer, hovering above its support level of $151. The coin traded at $211.01 at the time of writing, with a $62.38 billion market cap, posting a solid 19.01% gain so far this week.

Dogecoin (DOGE):

Doge is the other sought-after coin. The meme coin is approaching resistance at $0.28, with the next resistance level seen at around $0.3. Doge traded at $0.2421 at the time of writing, with a market capitalization of $31.58 billion.

SHIBA INU (SHIB):

SHIB has been trying to steal the show ever since the beginning of October. It managed to outperform the Doge rival after Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted a rabbit-like figure holding a rocket, often seen as a symbol of the "to the moon" meme in the crypto space. SHIB jumped by over 22% following the tweet.

The coin’s resistance persists at around the level of $0.000029, while the support level is seen at around $0.000026. However, the all-time high of $0.00003791 is still far from current levels. SHIB traded at $0.00002739 at the time of writing, with a $10.81 billion market cap.

Conclusion

There's a lot of hype surrounding the crypto space and there are mixed experts’ opinions. It is crucial to have a healthy dose of skepticism and be crypto-curious. Stick to your regular investment strategy and make sure you understand all the risks.