Bitcoin remains above US$30,000, Ether dips, Polygon gains on incoming network upgrade
Bitcoin dipped in Monday morning trading in Asia but held above the US$30,000 support level. Ether edged lower along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, as anticipation of further interest rate hikes in the U.S. reduces appetite for risk across markets. Meanwhile, a JPMorgan report claims that the recent flurry of Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications in the U.S. may not be the game changer that some expect. This is reducing some of the optimism surrounding ongoing Bitcoin ETF applications by major Wall Street names, including BlackRock.
Cryptos fall as ETF hype cools
Bitcoin dropped 0.32% over the last 24 hours to US$30,157 at 07:40 a.m. in Hong Kong to post a weekly loss of 1.33%, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The world’s leading cryptocurrency traded in the lower US$30,000 range over the weekend.
Ether edged 0.09% lower to US$1,862 and lost 3.71% for the week.
Most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies also logged losses in the past 24 hours. The exception was Polygon’s Matic token, which gained 1.15% to US$0.6876. It added 1.07% over the past seven days.
While multiple Bitcoin ETF applications in the past month have stirred optimism in the crypto market, their approval may not prove as transformational as some Bitcoin advocates expect, claimed a JP Morgan report on Friday. Similar products have existed in Canada and Europe but received limited inflows, the report suggests.
Despite this element of doubt creeping in, Bitcoin whales remain bullish on the token. Blockchain data tracker Santiment noted in a tweet on Sunday that addresses holding 10 to 10,000 Bitcoin had added a further 71,000 Bitcoin totalling approximately US$2.15 billion since July 17.
“Investors sentiment seems to — still — be slightly bolstered by Blackrock’s CEO Larry Fink’s comment and the prospect that such an openness to the asset class increases the chances of a spot BTC ETF,” said Justin d’Anethan, head of APAC business development at Belgium-based crypto market-maker Keyrock.
“It’s worth noting that while far off, the pile up of ETF applications hints at the fact that, eventually, we will see one and, once we do, other ETFs like an ETH-denominated one might see the light of day,” d’Anethan added.
Crypto exchange BingX announced on Saturday it would support Polygon blockchain’s Indore upgrade, which it said would improve the performance of the Polygon network. The move is likely to take effect from July 11.
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Singapore, BingX said it provides services in over 100 countries and regions, with over 5 million users, according to the press release.
The total cryptocurrency market cap was unchanged in the past 24 hours at US$1.18 trillion, while crypto trading volume dipped 0.22% to US$19.74 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data.
