Bitcoin prepares for $100K hike

Market picture

The crypto market is quiet, hovering around a total capitalisation of $2.6 trillion for the third day. Bitcoin has so far failed to gain a foothold above $70K, and this is curbing the enthusiasm. It is losing 0.3% in 24 hours against Ethereum's 0.6% rise.

The top altcoins have comparatively subdued and varied dynamics, with fluctuations between -2% for Dogecoin, -1.5% for Solana and a 1.5% rise for Toncoin.

Technically, Bitcoin remains near the upper boundary of the descending range. The round level of $70K is also quite important for the young crypto market. Going higher would break two barriers at once. Short-term growth momentum could quickly take the price to the highs at $73.5K. A more distant and important target could be in the $95K-$100K area, where the lower boundary is the 161.8% level of the January-March rise and the upper boundary is an important round level.

News background

US SEC staff told trading platforms that the agency is "leaning towards" approving a spot Ethereum-ETF. This is reported by Barron's, citing anonymous sources. The SEC has requested comments on the applications, and if submitted in time, could lead to approval as early as this week, the piece said.

At least five management companies have sent updated documents to the SEC, Bloomberg notes. Spot ETH-ETFs from VanEck and Franklin Templeton under the tickers ETHV and EZET have appeared on the US National Settlement Depository (DTCC) asset list.

The resumption of the SEC's dialogue with companies is an important step that may indicate a U-turn in the regulator's policy, according to Bloomberg. At the same time, some experts saw political overtones in the regulator's actions.

If the spot Ethereum-ETFs are approved, Matrixport believes cryptocurrency Solana (SOL) could be the next contender to launch exchange-traded funds.

Decentralised exchange Uniswap called on the SEC to reconsider its decision to file the lawsuit, citing the agency's actions as unreasonable and the legal argument as weak. Uniswap said it is prepared for a legal fight with the regulator.

SEC head Gary Gensler said that the bill proposed for approval by the House of Representatives on the structure of the U.S. cryptocurrency market excludes the definition of digital assets as securities, which poses a danger to investors.