Ethereum
ETH Stalls at $61,000 on Mt Gox Fears; ETH Surges on ETF News
Investing.com–Bitcoin’s price fell slightly on Thursday, with little relief after a major rout over the past week, as fears of a selloff stemming from the defunct Mt. Gox exchange kept traders on edge. token.
The overall sentiment towards cryptocurrencies was also dampened by fears of upcoming US inflation that is expected to impact the outlook for interest rates. This notion also kept traders heavily weighted towards the dollar.
fell 0.3% over the past 24 hours to $61,578.8 as of 9:30 a.m. ET (1:30 p.m. GMT).
Bitcoin price affected by Mt Gox concerns and dollar strength
Liquidators for defunct crypto exchange Mt Gox said they plan to begin distributing crypto assets stolen in a 2014 hack as early as early July. The distributions will consist primarily of large amounts of Bitcoin and .
But since the Bitcoins returned to customers will be worth substantially more than they were stolen for, traders expect that recipients of the assets will be more likely to liquidate their holdings, putting massive selling pressure on Bitcoins.
Mt Gox liquidators were seen mobilizing about $9 billion worth of Bitcoin earlier this year. But their Bitcoin holdings are much larger.
Beyond the Mt Gox sales, anticipation of data from the PCE Price Index, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation indicator, has also kept investors on their toes.
The strength of the dollar – amid lingering fears of high long-term US interest rates – has been a key weight on cryptocurrency prices in recent sessions.
Cryptocurrency Prices Today: Ether Boosted by ETF Reports
Among broader cryptocurrency prices, altcoins saw mixed performance as traders remained biased toward the dollar.
The world’s No. 2 token rose 2.1% to $3,444.2 after Reuters reported that the SEC could approve a spot Ether ETF as early as next week.
Other altcoins saw mixed gains, with and posting steady gains over the past 24 hours while surging over 7%.
Among meme tokens, they fell by 0.3%, while they lost 0.1%.
Ether ETFs Could Attract $1 Billion in Net Inflows Per Month, Galaxy Research Says
Optimism over a spot Ether ETF saw the token rise sharply in May, but the altcoin was seen giving up much of those gains over the past two weeks as traders questioned how well a spot ETF could increase prices.
However, Ether ETFs could attract net inflows of $1 billion per month once they are approved for trading, according to a report from Galaxy Research released Wednesday.
“We expect net inflows into ETH ETFs to account for 20-50% of net inflows into BTC ETFs in the first five months, with a target of 30%, implying $1 billion/month in net inflows,” Galaxy analysts wrote.
Ether ETFs are about to go live in the US after the SEC approved the applicants’ first filings last month. For trading to begin, the SEC must also approve their S-1 filings. The first spot Bitcoin ETFs were introduced in the US in January.
As with Bitcoin spot ETFs, new demand for Ether versions is expected to come from independent investment advisors and broker/dealer platforms, Galaxy’s note adds.
The firm highlighted that Ether is likely to be more sensitive to ETF inflows than Bitcoin due to a significant portion of ETH locked in staking, bridges and smart contracts, coupled with a lower amount held on centralized exchanges.
The approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF earlier this year saw the token briefly rebound to record highs. But Bitcoin has since remained in a tight trading range and struggled to deliver meaningful returns in the short term.