Expectations that the SEC will approve a spot Ethereum ETF this week are also buoying the optimistic outlook.
Cryptocurrency markets rose on Monday after an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania.
According to CoinGecko, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) has risen 4% over the past 24 hours, last trading at $62,000. Ethereum (ETH) has risen 3.9% to trade at $3,334. Polkadot (DOT) and Solana (SOL) have risen 1% and 3%, respectively.
Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap, Mog Coin (MOG) rose 15%, followed by Pendle (PENDLE) up 14% and Stacks (STX) up 12%.
The attack aimed at Trump happened on Sunday, just days before he was due to accept the Republican nomination for the White House for the third time, according to the Associated Press.
Cryptocurrency trading firm QCP Capital said in a note on Monday that the latest rally is likely due to market expectations that Trump will win the upcoming presidential election.
“His overtly pro-crypto stance is positive for crypto prices,” QCP Capital said in a market update. “We believe the market was already poised for an upswing after the German government ran out of supply and large hedge funds aggressively bought calls last week. Trump was the perfect catalyst for the market to jump into long positions.”
On crypto betting platform Polymarket, bets on Trump to win have hit an all-time high, currently standing at 71%, while Biden is at 18%.
Trump-themed coin MAGA is up 80% over the past seven days, TREMP is up 21% to $0.45, while meme coin BODEN, named after Joe Biden, is down about 3% over the past seven days.
ETH ETF Approval
Optimism in the cryptocurrency market also stems from expectations that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve a spot Ethereum ETF this week. Issuers such as VanEck and 21Shares have amended their S-1 registrations in anticipation of final approval from the SEC. In total, eight issuers are awaiting regulatory approval to list spot Ethereum ETFs.
Nate Geraci, president of the ETF Store, called this week “ETH ETF Approval Week.”
“Welcome to Spot ETH ETF Approval Week… as I'm calling it,” he said. “I don't know anything specific, but at this point I can't think of a good reason for any further delay. Issuers are ready to issue.”
Last week, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said he was perplexed by the lack of activity surrounding Ethereum ETFs, noting that the SEC had not provided any updates.
“Yeah, [right now] All Quiet on the Western Front[garding] “We didn't hear anything from the SEC this week,” he said. “Why would they do that? [are] It's just taking so long. The issuers are all ready. The paperwork is ready. It's like a rainout at a baseball game. You just have to wait. Maybe next week things will move faster.”
Market Inflow
Inflows into digital asset investment products hit $1.44 billion last week, bringing total inflows this year to a record $17.8 billion, surpassing the $10.6 billion in inflows recorded in 2021, according to CoinShares.
Despite the high inflows, volumes were relatively low, totaling $8.9 billion for the week compared to the yearly average of $21 billion. Bitcoin recorded inflows of $1.35 billion, its fifth-largest weekly inflow on record.
“A wide range of altcoins saw inflows, most notably Ethereum, which saw $72 million in inflows last week. This is the largest inflow since March and is likely driven by expectations of imminent approval of spot-based ETFs in the U.S.,” James Butterfill, head of research at investment firm CoinShares, said in a blog post.
CoinGlass reported that 41,184 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours, with total liquidation reaching $129.69 million.
Meanwhile, stock futures also rose as investors prepared for comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Monday. Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures rose 0.6%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.4%.
