The crypto market cap is now at $2.57 trillion after ranging between $2.17 trillion and $2.7 trillion since March. Many macroeconomic factors are at play here. So why are crypto prices rising?
Why are crypto prices rising?
The crypto market cap, the sum total of value in the market, has been hitting a range not seen since late 2021 over the last few months. Today, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at around $68,390 after rising 7% in the last week. This marks a 312% increase since the lows seen in 2022 after the FTX exchange collapsed, an event that had a major negative impact on the wider industry.
The crypto price increase may be due to positive sentiment now building as a result of new ETF approvals.
Ethereum ETF approvals may cause scarcity and increase demand
In the last week, US regulators have approved multiple ETFs for Ethereum (ETH). An Ethereum ETF, or exchange-traded fund, is an investment fund offered on stock exchanges with ETH as the underlying asset. ETFs allow traders to bet on the price of ETH without actually owning any.
This is a big deal for two reasons. First, it may greatly increase the amount of money flowing into the crypto market. While the investors buying the ETF stocks don’t own ETH themselves, the fund they’re investing in needs to purchase and store large sums of Ethereum coins to collateralize the ETF.
So, an ETF can create supply shock, or a shortage of the underlying asset, making it scarcer and in some cases, more valuable. The SEC has approved not just one ETF, but 8 different funds.
As it stands, the amount of circulating ETH being staked is just 27% compared to 63% for Solana and 65% for Cardano.
If Ethereum staking increases to match competitors, the supply shock issue could become even more pronounced, potentially leading to an ETH bull run.
It’s worth noting that while the price of BTC dropped around 4% on May 28, ETH actually saw a 4% price increase and has risen 17% this past month and 113% over 12 months. Investors are closely monitoring the rising cryptocurrency today for more developments.
Open interest for Ethereum futures on centralized exchanges also just hit a record high and Bitcoin ETF inflows, or money being invested, is up this week, indicating bullish sentiment overall.
Interest rates and the Halving
The supply of BTC was reduced by half in April, an event that often precedes a BTC price increase. However, it’s possible that investors have held back due to interest rates being 5.25% – 5.5%, the highest in 23 years.
Higher rates offer better returns on traditional investments like bonds and yields, and this might make riskier investments like Bitcoin less appealing.
The Fed recently indicated that rates are likely to remain as they are for the summer. However, there are six more chances for the Fed to reduce rates before the year is out, and speculation that this is likely to occur may be becoming priced into the market and boosting the price of crypto.
New data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is used to measure inflation, will be released on June 12, and this may impact the Fed’s decision, another possible factor in today’s price action.
Today’s top gainers: coins on the move
Asin the crypto space are Notcoin (NOT) with a 26% increase in 24 hours, Celestia (TIA) which is up 15%, and Chiliz (CHZ) up 11%. This week, NOT also takes the top spot with a 68% rise. FLOKI is up 33% this week and ONDO is up 30%.
As the macroeconomic situation continues to unfold, we’ll likely see more volatility throughout the crypto markets.
