Bitcoin rally sustains as ethereum gains on expected ETF trading

Brian McGleenon

Bitcoin sustained its recent rally following the attempted assassination of former US president Donald Trump at a campaign rally on Saturday.

The largest digital asset by market capitalisation (BTC-USD) surged by more than 10% in a week and is trending up around 1% in the past hour, according to Coingecko data. Bitcoin spiked over $65,000 (£50,000) in early trading on Thursday, a significant rebound from a low of around $55,000 this time last week.

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The price of ethereum (ETH-USD) also increased by over 10% in the past week, as market participants anticipate that spot ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could commence trading on stock exchanges next week.

The second largest digital asset by market capitalisation traded up 1% in the past hour, changing hands for $3,437 as of the time of writing, according to Coingecko data.

The assassination attempt on Trump is perceived as increasing the likelihood of the Republican candidate winning the presidential election in November. The cryptocurrency community is enthusiastic because they believe it will be advantageous if Trump, who has recently positioned himself as crypto-friendly, is elected.

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According to QCP Capital analysts, Trump's choice of J.D. Vance as his potential vice president provides another positive catalyst for bitcoin. "Vance holds bitcoin and we expect him to lobby for crypto-friendly regulations if Trump gets elected," QCP Capital analysts said.

Bitcoin may still face sell-side pressure, however, as the trustee for the now-defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox announced that creditor repayments will begin this month. In June, the Mt. Gox trustee's announcement that creditors of the defunct exchange will begin receiving repayments totalling approximately 142,000 bitcoin caused a panic among bitcoin investors.

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Investors remain cautious about the possibility that Mt. Gox creditors could start dumping their redistributed bitcoin onto exchanges after waiting over a decade to receive them. Over $9.4bn in bitcoin is owed to roughly 127,000 Mt. Gox creditors.

According to a recent report by QCP Capital, ethereum has gained in value because "analysts predict trading of spot ethereum ETFs will begin on 23rd July."

The QCP Capital report refers to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. "Hearing SEC finally gotten back to issuers today, asking them to return final S-1s on Wed (incl fees)," Balchunas posted on X.com on Monday, adding: "And then request effectiveness on Monday after close for a Tuesday 7/23 launch."

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The QCP Capital analysts added that the "ethereum spot ETF looks like a done deal with the SEC asking for final revisions to S-1 filings and fee schedules."

S-1 filings are the registration statements that companies must file to register their securities with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The filings indicate that the regulatory review process is nearing completion and trading of spot ethereum ETF is likely to be approved soon.

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