11/12 update below. This post was originally published on November 11
BitcoinBTC and crypto prices have rocketed this week, adding billions to the market as the price of bitcoin, ethereum, XRPXRP and solana led the rally (despite fresh fears bitcoin could be “killed” by the U.S. government).
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The bitcoin price has come within touching distance of $40,000 per bitcoin, riding a wave of bullish Wall Street optimism that was turbo-charged by a $17.7 trillion “window” opening for a short time.
Now, the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRockBLK, has pulled the trigger on what one closely-watched analyst has called “nuclear winter” for bitcoin, ethereum and crypto price skeptics.
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“A massive short squeeze occurred overnight in ethereum. The funding rate is the highest ever and signals total panic for shorts,” Matrixport’s head of crypto research and strategy Markus Thielen wrote in a report following BlackRock’s surprise ethereum spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) application.
It’s thought BlackRock’s ethereum spot ETF filing, coming hot on the heels of the Wall Street giant’s landmark bitcoin spot ETF application in June, could kick off a similar rush to market as rivals scramble to file for their own crypto ETFs.
“This is nuclear winter for everybody who doubted ethereum,” Thielen wrote. “Market-neutral crypto hedge funds are making a killing with these funding rates. Inflows into crypto hedge funds will be high on the agenda for allocators.”
11/12 update: As the bitcoin and crypto market awaits a decision from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the dozen or so bitcoin spot ETFs it’s currently considering, Fox Business Network correspondent Charles Gasparino has reported BlackRock is “growing increasingly confident” it will win approval by January.
Previously, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts put the odds of a spot bitcoin ETF bring approved by mid-Janury—when the SEC must rule one way or another on a bitcoin spot ETF application by Ark Invest and 21Shares—at 90%.
Ethereum has struggled along with the wider crypto market since peaking in late 2021, with the collapse of the non-fungible token (NFTNFT) market and the evaporation of interest in a decentralized internet built on the ethereum blockchain, known as web3, weighing on prices.
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Meanwhile, other market watchers cheered the BlackRock ethereum ETF news, following reports the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has opened dialogue with crypto asset manager Grayscale on converting its bitcoin trust into a fully-fledged bitcoin spot ETF.
“We’ve seen how the crypto market has been positively responding to news of a spot ETF approval, and this is another example,” Simon Peters, crypto market analyst at trading platform eToro, said in emailed comments, adding he expects the bitcoin price to continue climbing.
“We’ve broken clear of the $30,000-$31,000 resistance level which was proving pretty troublesome. Next stop is potentially $45,000, the highs last seen in March 2022.”
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