Bitcoin experienced a slight drop in Monday afternoon trading in Asia, but managed to remain above the key level of US$30,000. Over the course of the week, Bitcoin saw a gain of about 15%, thanks to positive market sentiment stemming from various financial institutions expressing interest in launching crypto-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The price of Ether, along with all other non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies in the top 10, fell within a 24-hour period, but had risen over the past week, with the exception of BNB and XRP.
According to CoinMarketCap data, Bitcoin dropped 1.04% to US$30,416 over a 24-hour period, up until 4pm in Hong Kong. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has seen a rise of 15.11% within the past week, predominantly driven by market optimism after several financial institutions expressed their interest in launching crypto-related ETFs. On Friday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first leveraged Bitcoin futures ETF in the US, offered by Volatility Shares. The “2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF” is scheduled to start trading on June 27 on the CBOE BZX Exchange.
Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst for Bloomberg, observed a rise of inflows to the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), a Bitcoin futures fund. He reported that the fund had its largest weekly inflow in a year, with total assets surpassing US$1 billion once again. Balchunas also noted that the fund traded half a billion in shares on Friday, marking only the fifth time such volume had been reached.
In the cryptocurrency industry, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, and WisdomTree, a New York-based asset manager, recently filed applications with the SEC to launch spot Bitcoin ETFs. Markus Thielen, the head of research at digital asset service platform Matrixport, believes that the SEC will approve BlackRock’s request by September or October 2023. Thielen predicts that the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF could accumulate approximately US$10 billion worth of Bitcoin holdings by the end of 2023. He notes that BlackRock has a history of filing ETF applications, with only one rejection, suggesting that the approval odds for their Bitcoin ETF request appear to be high.
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Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, experienced a 0.98% drop to US$1,893 within a 24-hour period, but had gained 9.83% over the week. Cardano’s ADA token saw the biggest decrease of the day, followed by Dogecoin, both of which lost over 2% within 24 hours, but saw gains over the week. Cardano dropped 2.33% to US$0.2904, but strengthened by 11.58% over the week. Dogecoin experienced a 2.31% drop to US$0.06609 after experiencing a 6.6% gain over the week.
Among the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, BNB, the native token of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and XRP, which powers Ripple Labs’ payment and exchange network services, were the only two tokens to post weekly losses. BNB fell 1.33% to US$237 within 24 hours and lost 2.29% over the past seven days. This decline followed Binance’s legal battle with the SEC for allegedly breaching securities rules. XRP declined 1.17% to US$0.4848 within 24 hours, following a 1.13% loss over the week. XRP prices were negatively impacted by the release of internal SEC documents, which Ripple claimed could prove unfair targeting by the US regulator.
The global crypto market capitalization dropped 1.08% to US$1.18 trillion, and the crypto market volume fell 4.34% to US$32.06 billion within a 24-hour period.
Moving on to the non-fungible token (NFT) market, the Forkast 500 NFT index witnessed a 0.27% dip to 2,910.62 in 24 hours, but gained 1.19% over the past week. NFT sales volume on the Ethereum network fell 24.92% to US$15.72 million within 24 hours. However, sales volume on the Bitcoin network surged by 355.81% to US$9.85 million, according to CryptoSlam data. Ethereum is facing price struggles, particularly within the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), where the average sales price remains in the low- to mid-US$70,000 range.
Sales volumes for BAYC dropped by 74.34% to US$1.3 million within the past 24 hours, while Azuki experienced a 45.26% gain to US$2.99 million. Azuki recently announced a new collection called Elementals, and the average price has remained stable following this announcement. The sale for Azuki Elementals opens on June 27, and holders of Azuki NFTs will have the first opportunity to purchase the new collection.
Furthermore, sales of NFTs on the Bitcoin network saw significant activity, with Space Pepes topping the charts, experiencing a 16,555.2% increase in sales volume to US$3.6 million within a 24-hour period. $BTOC BRC-20 NFTs also saw a notable increase, with sales volumes climbing 835% to US$2.8 million.
In terms of equities, both Asian and European markets experienced declines on Monday. The tumultuous situation in Russia over the weekend, with the march of Wagner Group mercenaries towards Moscow, created concerns about potential instability, which may undermine the leadership of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Investor caution also stems from the possibility of further monetary tightening in major economies. As Asian trading hours came to an end, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.48%, the Shenzhen Component Index dropped 1.68%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.51%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.25%.
Additionally, S&P Global’s decision to decrease its outlook on China’s economic growth also impacted market sentiment. S&P now predicts that China’s gross domestic product will grow by 5.2% in 2023, down from its earlier expectation of 5.5%. In comparison, S&P maintained its economic growth outlook for India at 6% for the current and next financial year, labeling it as the fastest growing economy in the Asia Pacific region. India’s Sensex index at the Bombay Stock Exchange remained relatively unchanged, with a 0.01% dip at the close of trading hours.
US stock futures also fell, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declining by 0.07%, the S&P 500 futures falling by 0.15%, and the Nasdaq 100 Futures losing 0.23% as of 7pm in Hong Kong. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments last week emphasized the need for additional interest rate hikes in the US this year. Interest rates in the country currently range between 5% and 5.25%, marking the highest they have been since 2006. Luis de Guindos, the vice president of the European Central Bank, stated that the bank’s interest rate hikes have started affecting businesses and consumers, with fewer loans being taken out. This contraction in credit is expected to impact the real economy, lowering demand and subsequently lowering inflation. The European Central Bank recently raised interest rates by 25 basis points, reaching a rate of 3.5%, its highest since the 2008 financial crisis, signaling the possibility of more rate hikes later in the year. During Monday afternoon trading hours in Europe, the benchmark STOXX 600 slipped 0.21%, and Germany’s DAX 40 lost 0.23%.
In summary, Bitcoin remained above US$30,000 despite a slight drop in trading, benefiting from positive market sentiment driven by financial institutions expressing interest in launching crypto-related ETFs. The cryptocurrency saw a gain of about 15% over the past week. Other top non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies experienced drops in the past 24 hours, with the exception of BNB and XRP, which posted losses for the week. NFT sales volume on the Ethereum network faced a decline, while the Bitcoin network witnessed a surge. Equities markets in Asia and Europe declined due to concerns in Russia and caution over potential monetary tightening in major economies. US stock futures fell as well, as interest rate hikes in both the US and Eurozone continue to be topics of discussion.
