The crypto markets have been up this week, and many analysts have confirmed the beginning of a bull run. In this week’s spotlight, BlackRock, the financial giant that seems to have an insatiable trading appetite, has once again emerged as a key player in the crypto space.
From groundbreaking investments to strategic moves, BlackRock’s influence on the crypto market continues to shape the narrative and captivate the attention of investors worldwide.
Crypto markets surge towards a bull run
The SEC’s window for approving 12 Bitcoin-spot ETF applications opened on Wednesday. Bloomberg Intelligence Analyst James Seyffart announced the opening and stated that it will be open till November 17. Despite the lack of SEC approval, James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas predicted that a spot BTC ETF would be approved by January 10, 2024.
Investors reacted positively to the news, with Bitcoin reaching a new 2023 high of $38,020 on Thursday. The expectation that the SEC will approve one, some, or all of the applications continues to drive demand for BTC and the broader market. The Grayscale appeals victory has added to the increased optimism.
The current price of Bitcoin at the time of writing is $37,117. The current valuation of the global crypto market cap, as reported by CoinGecko, is $1.46 trillion. This represents a change of -0.06% over the past twenty-four hours and 62.85% over the past year.
At present, Bitcoin (BTC) holds a market cap of $725 billion, signifying a dominance of 49.74%. With a market cap of $127 billion, stablecoins account for 8.7% of the total crypto market cap.
BlackRock’s ETH spot ETF news ends the crypto winter
On Thursday, Ethereum entered the exchange-traded fund (ETF) race. The crypto market was in a commotion upon learning that BlackRock (BLK) had submitted an application to the Nasdaq for an ETH-spot ETF. With the filing of Form 19b-4 with the iShares Ethereum Trust, BlackRock initiated the preliminary procedures for introducing an ETH-spot ETF.
In response to the possibility of institutional capital infusions into ETH, the crypto surged 12.30% on Thursday. BlackRock, nonetheless, was not the initial entity to focus on an ETH-spot ETF.
Applications for ETH-spot ETFs have been submitted by VanEck, ArkInvest/21Shares, Hashdex, and Invesco/Galaxy. The conversion of Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust to a spot ETF was requested in its application.
Particularly noteworthy was the filing’s justification for approval, which cited Grayscale’s recent appeal victory over the SEC. Whether the BTC-spot ETF applications are successful or unsuccessful will likely determine the trajectory of ETH-spot ETF development.
On to Singapore – Hodlnaut to enter liquidation
The Singapore High Court has ordered the liquidation of Hodlnaut, a digital asset lender that went bankrupt during crypto winter.
Aaron Loh Cheng Lee, Hodlnaut’s former temporary judicial manager, made the announcement in a letter posted on the EY website. He and his colleague, interim judicial manager Ee Meng Yen Angela, were relieved of their duties and named liquidators.
Hodlnaut, based in Singapore, halted deposits and withdrawals in August 2022 and withdrew its licensing application before federal regulators. The decision was made because of “recent market conditions,” which referred to crypto winter. According to the letter dated November 10, Hodlnaut’s creditors include 17,000 users.
The SEC vs. Ripple squabble has left XRP trailing the market
Uncertainty about the outcome of the ongoing SEC v Ripple lawsuit has put XRP in the red for the week. According to the court order dated October 24, the SEC and Ripple jointly filed a briefing schedule on Thursday.
Investors must now wait for a court scheduling order in order to begin the 90-day clock on remedies-related discovery. The outstanding charges stem from the sale of XRP to institutional investors.
However, the price impact of a probable settlement has dissipated. Investors anticipate that the SEC will appeal the Programmatic Sales verdict following the SEC v Ripple case.
As of this writing, the current live price of XRP is $ 0.644888 per (XRP / USD), with a market size of $ 4.60B. The 24-hour trading volume is $ 2.00 billion USD. With a circulating supply of 53.65B, XRP has dropped -3.2% in the last 24 hours.
FTT Rises on FTX Reboot Talks
Sam Bankman-Fried now faces life in prison after a jury found him guilty on all counts on November 2. The jury deliberated for approximately 4 hours before finding all seven charges guilty.
FTT Token is up 283% this week to $4.3590. Investors reacted to an interview with CNBC by SEC Chair Gary Gensler. According to Gensler, an FTX reboot is possible if the company follows the legislation. Gensler was a guest speaker at DC Fintech Week 2023.
