Strong buying the dips sentiment for Bitcoin with lower wick; institutional investors also show strong interest in Ethereum.

## Cryptocurrency Market Conditions

In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $106,600 with a +1.18% change from the previous day.

BTC/USD Daily

Bitcoin has maintained a steady price movement even amid increasing uncertainty in the financial markets. Despite the Federal Reserve's (FRB) increasingly unclear interest rate policy outlook and Moody's downgrade of U.S. Treasury bonds from their highest rating, the cryptocurrency market has shown resilience.

In yesterday's trading, there was a temporary sharp decline from a situation that approached the all-time high, but as US trading hours began, buying pressure returned. The formation of a clear lower shadow on the daily chart suggests that strong buying interest remains intact during the pullbacks.

If this steady trend continues, a golden cross of the 50-day and 200-day moving averages on the daily chart, which investors are paying the most attention to, is approaching formation (as indicated by the red circle in the above figure). If this occurs, it will serve as an important technical signal indicating the start of a medium to long-term upward trend.

Furthermore, if the Trump administration's further easing measures on tariff policies that led to last month's panic market, as well as the anticipated decrease in long-term U.S. interest rates from next month onward, are realized, it is highly likely that the risk appetite of global investors will further accelerate, leading to an additional push for higher prices.

However, the macroeconomy remains highly uncertain, and there is a risk of being forced to adjust if negative factors emerge regarding the US-China trade friction, making the situation fluid.

altcoin market

The largest derivative exchange, CME Group, began trading XRP futures on May 19, and according to Coinglass data presented by Cryptoslate, it recorded a trading volume exceeding $15.6 million (approximately 2.3 billion yen) on its first day. This trading volume is comparable to that of major trading platforms.

Giovanni Vichioso, the Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group, emphasized that "the demand for derivative products aimed at institutional investors is expanding beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum." He explained that the increasing interest and adoption of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) are behind the launch of these products.

The decision to list this time is in response to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) classifying XRP as a commodity.

The availability of regulated XRP futures could represent an important step towards the realization of an XRP spot ETF. With the change in leadership at the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), which has shown a repressive stance towards the cryptocurrency industry under former President Biden, many experts believe that "it is only a matter of time before the XRP spot ETF lands in the United States."

At the SEC Speaks conference on the 19th, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins emphasized that "during my term, the SEC should return to the original point of promoting innovation rather than stifling it as in the previous era of Gary Gensler."

Currently, according to data from Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, eight spot ETFs related to XRP are awaiting approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The existence of a regulated futures market has been an important criterion for the SEC in evaluating spot ETF proposals.

On the other hand, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has once again postponed its decision on the proposed Solana spot ETF, exacerbating the growing uncertainty surrounding digital asset investment products.

The current delay affects the applications of both 21Shares and Bitwise, as the SEC has initiated formal proceedings for further evaluation, leaving both companies in a status of long-term review.

Bitwise submitted an application for a Solana ETF in January this year, and experienced a first delay in March. 21Shares, which already has a track record in the Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF space, has not yet received approval despite having submitted its application early.

Bloomberg analysts James Seyforth and Eric Balchunas estimate the probability of final approval for the Solana ETF to be still high at 90%, but the approval process is expected to be delayed until late 2025, leading to a retreat in short-term optimism.

As expectations for the approval of a physical ETF following Ethereum diminish, Solana futures contracts traded on the CME Group are serving as a regulated alternative for institutional investors to gain exposure to SOL.

Strong interest in Ethereum

The inflow of funds into cryptocurrency investment products is reaching record levels.

According to the weekly report from CoinShares, cryptocurrency investment products operated by major asset management companies recorded a net inflow of $785 million (approximately ¥1.18 trillion) last week, marking an increase for the fifth consecutive week.

James Butterfield, the head of research at CoinShares, revealed in a recent report that year-to-date inflows have reached $7.5 billion, surpassing the previous record of $7.2 billion set in early February. "The approximately $7 billion outflow that occurred during the price adjustment in February and March has been fully recovered," he explained. The total assets under management of cryptocurrency funds have reached a record high of $172.9 billion.

Notable was the Ethereum investment product, which recorded a net inflow of $205 million (approximately 30.75 billion yen) just last week, bringing the year-to-date inflow to $575 million (approximately 86.25 billion yen).

This indicates that investor sentiment towards Ethereum is recovering amid positive developments such as the successful upgrade of Pectra and the appointment of Mr. Tomasz Stanchak as co-director.

Mr. Butterfield cited the continued hawkish stance of the Federal Reserve (FRB) as the reason for the decrease in inflows to Bitcoin funds, which fell from $887 million the previous week.

Ethereum (ETH) News - Price

Thorough explanation of investment merits and risks

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Bitcoin (BTC) News and Price

BTC Exchange Comparison | Fees, Spreads, Regular Investments, Lending Coins

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Here is the list of market reports published in the past.