Bitcoin (BTC) is down 2.9% this week, trading
at $66,210. Most of the decline occurred on July 23, and this decline seems to
be temporary. The activity of the bankrupt Mt. Gox crypto exchange, which
transferred $5.69 billion in BTC to new accounts and later moved more than $130
million in BTC to Bitstamp, sparked fears of a sell-off. This news has been the
only negative development in the crypto market recently.
On a more positive note, the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved trading of spot Ethereum ETFs, with
nine ETFs set to launch from major firms like BlackRock, Grayscale, and
Bitwise. These ETFs have quickly become some of the most traded on the market.
Bloomberg estimates that inflows to spot ETH ETFs could reach 25% of those into
spot Bitcoin ETFs, a promising sign for the crypto market.
In the political arena, Democrats are
regrouping after Joe Biden stepped aside from the presidential race, endorsing
Vice President Kamala Harris. There are rumors that Barack Obama might endorse
his wife, Michelle Obama, as the Democratic nominee. Additionally, Democrats
are softening their stance on cryptocurrencies to appeal to the approximately
20% of U.S. citizens who hold crypto assets.
Donald Trump is rumored to plan supporting
cryptocurrencies at the Bitcoin Conference 2024, potentially proposing to make
Bitcoin a reserve asset. Such a move could significantly boost Bitcoin’s role
in the financial market and increase institutional demand.
Last week, BlackRock's IBIT and Fidelity's
FBTC reported net inflows of $828.5 million, while Grayscale's GBTC saw a net
outflow of $53.3 million, resulting in total net inflows of $775.2 million.
This week, IBIT and FBTC reported another $257.2 million in inflows, and GBTC
saw net inflows of $20.2 million, totaling $277.4 million in just two days.
These substantial inflows could propel the market to new highs. The next
targets for BTC are the resistance levels at $70,000-72,000 and $78,000-80,000.
Looking ahead, Bitcoin prices could even reach $100,000 this fall.