Grayscale Pioneers: The Premier ETF to Launch Trading in Crypto Sphere

• Recent Bitcoin Developments
• Grayscale's GBTC Starts Pre-trading
• Ethereum Responds Positively
• Chart of the Day

Recent Bitcoin Developments

In a significant development, spot bitcoin ETFs have been approved in the U.S., marking a remarkable step after ten years of continuous efforts. The consent came from the Securities and Exchange Commission, to vital filings from the market participants eager to list these innovative finance products on Wednesday. Following the approval, bitcoin's price hit $47,500 and is currently hovering around the $47,000 mark. Around a dozen firms, including BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale, have expressed their interest in creating bitcoin ETFs. These are spot ETFs that hold bitcoin itself, unlike the previously approved bitcoin futures ETFs, which contain derivatives contracts linked to BTC. These highly anticipated products will make their debut on U.S. markets facilitated by the NYSE, Cboe Global Markets, and Nasdaq, with the backing of major trading firms intending to provide liquidity.

Grayscale's GBTC Starts Pre-trading

Grayscale, the GBTC manager, has taken the lead by becoming the first to start trading among the newly approved spot bitcoin ETFs, as confirmed by a company representative on Thursday. Jennifer Rosenthal, Grayscale's head of communications, announced via email that GBTC started pre-trading at 4 am EST. Grayscale's $27 billion bitcoin trust transitioned into an ETF after receiving SEC approval on Wednesday. This approval was one among several given out by the U.S. markets regulatory body.

Ethereum Responds Positively

These spot bitcoin ETF approvals have also positively influenced ether (ETH) traders who speculate that the Ethereum$2,315 -2.42% network token might soon follow suit. The price of ETH has seen a 10% surge in 24 hours, along with bitcoin which experienced a 1.3% rise. Layer 2 network tokens that function as distinct blockchains while being built on Ethereum, have also increased substantially. Both ARB from Arbitrum and MNT from Mantle have seen gains exceeding 20%. Other Ethereum ecosystem tokens, from meme coins to those powering Ethereum-based applications, have increased 14% on average, as tracked by CoinGecko. In the past 24 hours, the largest smart money inflows were directed towards the Ethereum ecosystem, as per a message from Martin Lee, a Nansen analyst. Nansen defines smart money as wallets making trades or investments in an experience-driven or well-informed manner, generally yielding profits.

Chart of the Day

The provided chart displays the cumulative volume delta in futures tied to ether. Crypto exchange OKX is leading the CVD growth, closely followed by Binance, indicating net capital inflows into the market. Ether has surged nearly 10% to $2,650 in the past 24 hours, as traders are eyeing the second-largest cryptocurrency as a likely candidate for a spot ETF approval following bitcoin.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker