Bitcoin hovers around $45K as crypto holds breath for spot ETFs

Bitcoin spot ETF season is like the Superbowl for bitcoin speculators

article-image

Artwork by Crystal Le

share

Bitcoin has almost fully recovered from a recent 10% fall and is now close to retesting 21-month highs set earlier this month.

BTC jumped about 3% Monday morning to briefly hit $45,235 — about 1.5% below local highs set on Jan. 2. Bitcoin has since retraced slightly. 

All this while spot ETF hopefuls lodge some of their final documents ahead of the first of the SEC’s approval deadlines this week. 

BlackRock, Grayscale, VanEck and others have disclosed their proposed management fees for their respective ETFs, with investors expected to favor products that carry the lowest costs. 

Analysts are almost certain the SEC will approve the funds — which must accumulate actual bitcoin on behalf of shareholders — to mark the first-ever such products to list in the US. 

Three spot bitcoin ETFs already trade in Canada and the largest holds about $1.5 billion in bitcoin on behalf of its shareholders.

Bitcoin is now up by about half over the past six months and by more than 160% over the past year. 

Bitcoin’s gains, now more than double ether’s, have been largely attributed to hype surrounding spot ETF. 

BlackRock and Fidelity similarly filed for spot ether ETFs shortly after their bitcoin proposals but it hasn’t done much to close the gap between the top-two cryptocurrencies.

In fact, the ETH/BTC ratio has dropped almost 10% since BlackRock’s spot ether filing on Nov. 16. The ratio measures the cost of 1 ETH in terms of bitcoin; currently 0.05038 ETH and one-third down over the past year. 

It’s the ratio’s lowest point since April 2021, when bitcoin was worth $60,000.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the On the Margin newsletter.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Salt Lake City, UT

MON - TUES, OCT. 7 - 8, 2024

Blockworks and Bankless in collaboration with buidlbox are excited to announce the second installment of the Permissionless Hackathon – taking place October 7-8 in Salt Lake City, Utah. We’ve partnered with buidlbox to bring together the brightest minds in crypto for […]

Salt Lake City, UT

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Permissionless is a conference for founders, application developers, and users. Come meet the next generation of people building and using crypto.

recent research

Unlocked by Template (2).jpg

Research

Vertex has established itself as a formidable player in the perps DEX landscape. Its strategic approach to chain expansion, focusing on EVM-compatible networks and leveraging incentive programs, has proven largely successful. The reduced time-to-launch for each new chain integration highlights the team's growing expertise and the scalability of their technology. As Vertex continues to expand, it is well-positioned to capitalize on the increasing fragmentation of the perpetual DEX market, potentially consolidating liquidity across multiple chains through its Edge technology.

article-image

Plus, the latest entrant into the crypto fund game

article-image

The goal of Tuesday’s inaugural Congressional hearing on DeFi was to “explore emerging topics” in digital assets, Rep. French Hill said

article-image

Blockworks Research analyst predicts 2025 will be a big year for economic changes on Solana

article-image

A tech industry coalition executive last week urged moderators to ask about crypto, noting that “passing bipartisan digital asset regulations is front and center this election cycle”

article-image

BitGo’s using a 1-2-of-3 decentralized verifier network involving LayerZero Labs and Polyhedra

article-image

The challenge of securing our digital world lies in developing conflict-resistant digital infrastructure