Ripple and Solana Steal the Show as Ethereum ETF Launch Disappoints: This Week’s Crypto Update

It’s been an interesting week for the cryptocurrency industry. Although its total capitalization has remained largely unchanged, a lot has happened that deserves our attention, so let’s get into it.

Right off the get-go, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission finally gave the last regulatory nod of approval for spot Ethereum ETF issues to launch their products. This was a highly-anticipated moment for many ETH investors, but the price took a nosedive following the launch. It’s important to note that ETH ETFs generated over $1 billion of trading volume on each of the first couple of trading days, which accounted for roughly 20% of the volume that BTC generated. This was in line with the experts’ expectations.

However, in the three days since the ETF began trading, the products saw outflows of around $180 million, predominantly caused by selling from Grayscale. This has obviously discouraged the price, which is currently trading at a 4% weekly loss. Nevertheless, the launch of ETH ETFs is largely considered a very positive event as it opens the doors for traditional investors to get involved through a familiar and regulated investment vehicle.

Despite the highly-anticipated launch, though, it was something else that stole the show.

Ripple’s XRP and Solana (SOL) are this week’s top performers among large-cap cryptocurrencies, and they’re not even close. XRP gained a whopping 26%, while SOL performed even better, increasing by 30% during the same period. The altcoins have clearly returned to a positive trend, and industry participants are wondering if this is the start of another rally.

Bitcoin has also performed steadily, increasing by around 5% during the last seven days. It’s interesting to note that the US presidential candidate and former president, Donald Trump, will give a keynote speech at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville tomorrow. The entire community is anticipating this event eagerly.

That said, MT. Gox creditors have started to receive their funds in BTC and BCH, and it’s interesting to see if this will affect the market in the following weeks.

Market Data

Market Cap: $2.514T | 24H Vol: $99B | BTC Dominance: 52.8%

BTC: $67,150 (+4.9%) | ETH: $3,237 (-4.1%) | BNB: $576 (+0.5%)

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This Week’s Crypto News You Can’t Miss

Best Hardware Wallets 2024: Top 5 Crypto Cold Storage Picks. Starting off with a longer guide we’ve recently produced, take a look at some of the best hardware wallets to consider in 2024. Security is important; do not neglect it.

Ethereum Turns 10: A Decade of Blockchain Revolution. Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency and the most actively developed blockchain network celebrated its 10th birthday this week. It’s a huge milestone not only for the project but also for the entire industry.

ETH ETFs Finally Live, but Price Takes a Beating. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave its last nod of approval to the issuers of spot Ethereum ETFs. The products are now trading live, but the price has been dipping almost ever since they saw the light of day.

One in a Billion: Tiny Bitcoin Mining Device Defies Odds, Earns $206,000 Block Reward. Bitcoin mining has turned into a tremendously energy-intensive process where industrial players compete to generate each block and earn the reward. Well, one lucky home miner with the size of a hand defied the odds to the tune of 1 in 1.1 billion and managed to produce a block and get the $206K reward.

VanEck Predicts Bitcoin Could Reach $2.9 Million by 2050 If This Happens. Popular asset manager VanEck has recently come up with an interesting prediction. The firm believes that the Bitcoin price can reach a valuation of a whopping $2.9 million by 2050.

Marathon Digital Increases Bitcoin Stash With $100M Purchase. The well-known Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital has adopted a full HODL strategy and has recently announced the purchase of $100 million worth of BTC. With this, the company now holds more than 20,000 BTC.