Ethereum as crypto growth driver
Market picture
The crypto market settles at a $2 trillion cap level, up 0.8% on the day. Altcoins are once again driving growth, while the first coin is flat, losing 0.5% in 24 hours, and Ethereum is up 2.5%. BNB adds just under 2%, enjoying a resurgence of interest in cryptocurrency trading. XRP and Cardano both lose 1%, dragging the market back down.
Bitcoin and Ethereum are the cryptocurrencies of choice for institutional speculators. Their obvious trade right now is betting on the approval of spot ETFs on ETH. Speculators are cautiously locking in profits in BTC, which has previously rallied on the same theme.
Remember that Ethereum's market capacity is smaller than Bitcoin's, which has a three times bigger market cap. This means that the price is more sensitive to changes in sentiment. Ethereum has gained 40% in 30 days, the best performance among the top 10 cryptos.
News background
About 90% of the bitcoins purchased by spot ETFs have gone to Coinbase's custodial platform, its CEO Brian Armstrong said. He stated that the exchange's custody service has accumulated more than $36 billion in BTC. The growing ETF market suggests that institutional capital is seriously considering bitcoin as one of the most reliable assets.
If the US SEC does not approve a spot Ethereum ETF in May 2024, it will do so by mid-2025, said attorney Scott Jonsson. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffarth believes the SEC won't take as long to process Ethereum ETF applications as it did with BTC, as a significant portion of the applications could be based on Bitcoin ETFs. S&P Ratings expects the SEC to approve applications to launch the ETF in May.
The court approves a $4.3 billion payment by Binance exchange to the US Department of Justice as part of a plea deal. According to the signed agreement, the platform agreed to take significant steps to ensure continued compliance with US laws.
According to CryptoSlam, total sales of non-replaceable tokens (NFTs) on the Solana network have surpassed $5 billion, with 43 million NFT transactions. The Solana blockchain has more than 2.2 million buyers and 1.6 million sellers of NFTs.
Internet forum Reddit invests surplus funds in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The cryptocurrency investment strategy started back in 2022.
Author
Alexander Kuptsikevich, a senior market analyst at FxPro, has been with the company since its foundation. From time to time, he gives commentaries on radio and television. He publishes in major economic and socio-political media.
