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Bitcoin surged to its highest level in a year – around A$47K (US$31.4K) this week, marking an 85% rise for the year to date. Bitcoin finishes the week up 12.8% at A$45,155 (US$30.2K) while Ethereum gained 7.1% to trade at A$2,775 (US$1,859). Ripple fell 3.2% but most other coins enjoyed gains including Cardano (6.4%), Dogecoin (3.1%), Solana (1.5%) and Litecoin (12.3%). The biggest winner was Bitcoin Cash, which surged 108%, as investors reasoned the SEC will likely not declare it a security due to its similarity to Bitcoin. July is a historically strong month for prices notes Matrixport crypto researcher Makus Thielen, including 24%, 20% and 27% gains in the past three years. “Bitcoin could be at $33,000 to $36,000 by August (A$49.4K-A$54K),” he said. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index is at 55, or Greed.
In headlines
Bitcoin ETFs, ETFs, ETFs
Volatility Shares in New York has won approval to launch a leveraged Bitcoin futures ETF. The “2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF” (BITX) is set to kick off overnight and Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas believes it could be a sign the SEC is thawing in its attitude to Bitcoin.”I was doubtful it would happen but looks like it’s official. Could this be an early sign of SEC lightening up?” he asked. Fidelity, Invesco, Wisdom Tree and Valkyrie have all dusted off their own Bitcoin ETF applications in the hope they’ll finally get approved. “The Great Accumulation of Bitcoin has begun,” tweeted Gemini’s Cameron Winklevoss. “Anyone watching the flurry of ETF filings understands the window to purchase pre-IPO Bitcoin before ETFs go live and open the floodgates is closing fast.” Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, HSBC has enabled customers to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ether-based ETFs.
Institutions warm up to Bitcoin
Institutional inflows into digital asset funds hit US$199 million (A$298M) last week. Around 94% of that money went into Bitcoin-only funds. CoinShare’s Meltem Dimiror says BlackRock isn’t the only big firm getting into crypto with Fidelity, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon, Invesco and Bank of America all embracing digital assets. She points out they manage US$27 trillion (A$40.5T) of client funds between them. Perhaps proving her point, Germany’s largest bank Deutsche Bank, with assets worth US$1.3 trillion (A$1.94T), has just applied for a digital asset custody licence with the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).
Investors warm up to Bitcoin
A survey of 303 professional investors (managing US$5T/A$7.5T between them) conducted by Nomura digital assets subsidiary Laser Digital, found that 96% remain keen to tip money into the crypto sector. Jez Mohideen, CEO of Laser Digital told Coin Desk that “the majority of institutional investors surveyed saw a clear role for digital assets in the investment management landscape, and the benefits they can bring, such as greater diversification of portfolios.”
Blockchain Australia introduces new CEO Simon Callaghan
Blockchain Australia’s new CEO Simon Callaghan was announced on the first day of Blockchain Week in Sydney on Monday. He provides the industry with a much-needed advocate, following a year in limbo after the respected Steve Vallas departed. Formerly the digital assets program lead at Cambridge University, Callaghan told Cointelegraph he will push for Australia to quickly adopt new regulations, following the example of the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong, rather than the US. “Everyone wants to know where the goalposts are so people can operate their businesses, build their technologies and create jobs,” he said. At Blockchain Week, Independent Reserve CEO Adrian Przelozny appeared on a panel about the future of the space. “It’s becoming more and more obvious the institutions are coming,” he said. “Regulations will force exchanges to operate to a higher standard.”Blockchain Week finishes up on Friday in Melbourne, and there is an event in Brisbane too.Fed should regulate stablecoins
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed should play a “robust” role in overseeing stablecoins rather than leave it up to the states. “We do see payments stablecoins as a form of money,” he said, noting that cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, have “staying power.”
Ether on exchanges hits an all-time low
Glassnode points out that exchange balances for Ether have reached an all-time low of 12.6% of the supply in the past month. While some of this was caused by investors taking funds off centralised exchanges due to the SEC crackdown, analyst Nivesh Rustgi noted “the magnitude of withdrawals and bullish price action show similarity to the November 2022 levels, when ETH quickly surged over 33% following an equivalent dip in exchange balances.” That could put Ether in sight of US$3,000 (A$4.5K) he wrote.
Bitcoin go up or Bitcoin go down?
Bloomberg’s senior macro strategist, Mike McGlone, is still warning of risks ahead for the digital assets sector, warning Bitcoin could still hit US$20K (A$30K) due to a possible US recession. However, Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management, told Bloomberg that a “multi-year bull market… is just getting started now.”And influencer Credible Crypto believes we’re headed up US$10K (A$15K) a month from here on in. “From current levels to prior ATH is a US$40,000 (A$60K) gap. This gap should then, logically, be covered within a few monthly candles if this is a parabolic advance,” he said.
Until next week, Happy Trading!
