July 9 2024: Bitcoin’s price showed marginal gains on Tuesday, holding steady amid ongoing concerns about a potential increase in token supply, while Ether saw a significant rise due to speculation around the launch of a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF).
The world’s largest cryptocurrency has been recovering from steep losses over the past two weeks, hitting a four-month low last week due to fears surrounding token distributions by the now-defunct crypto exchange Mt Gox. However, the downward trend seems to have paused for now.
Bitcoin rose 3.2% in the past 24 hours to $57,280.7 by 01:06 ET (05:06 GMT). Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, outperformed Bitcoin, rising 5.4% to $3,070.71.
Bitcoin’s Recent Decline Tied to Mt Gox Fears
Last week, Bitcoin dropped as low as $53,000 after Mt Gox trustees began distributing tokens stolen during a 2014 hack. Although the overall value of the distribution was not disclosed, the announcement led to further selling as traders feared recipients would liquidate their holdings due to Bitcoin’s substantial price increase over the past decade.
Major Bitcoin “whale” wallets were observed selling off their holdings, and sales of Bitcoin confiscated by the German government from a piracy website added to the selling pressure. Despite this, Bitcoin’s price has now stabilized, supported by recent data indicating strong capital inflows into crypto investment products, which has improved market sentiment.
Crypto Assets See Weekly Inflows on Bargain Hunting
Data from digital assets manager CoinShares showed that crypto investment products experienced $441 million in inflows during the week ending July 8. This trend was attributed to bargain hunting as concerns over a potential token dump affected crypto prices. Bitcoin accounted for a significant portion of the inflows, but other major altcoins also saw investments. Ether products, for example, saw about $10 million in inflows.
Crypto Prices Today: Altcoins Rise Amid Ether ETF Speculation
Broader crypto prices followed the rebound in Bitcoin and Ether, with Ether emerging as the best performer. The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to approve Form S-1 filings from several major issuers for the listing of spot ETFs later in July, which has boosted confidence, reflected in the narrowing price discount on Coinbase to Binance.
However, the broader crypto industry, including Ether, has faced reduced retail interest this year, as evidenced by sluggish trading volumes in spot Bitcoin ETFs. Nonetheless, altcoin prices rose on Tuesday, showing mild recovery from recent losses. XRP and Cardano increased by 3.1% and 6.5%, respectively, while Solana rose 5.8% as exchange operator CBOE filed for approval to list spot Solana ETFs. Among meme tokens, DOGE and SHIB each added about 4%.