The cryptocurrency market has experienced a cooling-off period over the past week, with its total capitalization currently standing at $1.69 trillion. This comes in the wake of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, a development that had been highly anticipated for months. Surprisingly, the ETF approval did not lead to the massive influx of funds that some had expected. As of January 18th, the combined holdings of all Bitcoin ETFs amounted to around $26 billion, with Grayscale holding the majority at 581,274 BTC.
In contrast, the SEC recently postponed its decision on Fidelity’s proposed spot Ethereum (ETH) ETF, causing a decline in ETH’s price. Currently, Ethereum’s native token is trading at approximately $2,450, down 7.7% for the week.
Overall, Bitcoin (BTC) saw an 8.4% drop, Solana (SOL) declined by 6.1%, XRP fell by 9.1%, ADA dropped by 15%, AVAX was down by 14%, and other cryptocurrencies followed suit.
Binance Coin (BNB) stands out as the best performer, registering a 1.3% gain for the week, making it the only cryptocurrency in the green during this period.
Ethereum-based tokens, particularly L2 scaling solutions like Optimism and Arbitrum, suffered the most significant losses, with both coins declining by over 20% in the past seven days.
Aside from these market movements, the cryptocurrency industry has seen relatively little activity during the week, with market participants seemingly in consolidation mode.
It remains to be seen whether this calm will persist in the coming week, especially considering that we are approximately four months away from the highly anticipated Bitcoin halving scheduled for late April.
Market Data
Market Cap: $1.676 trillion | 24H Vol: $100 billion | BTC Dominance: 47.4%
BTC: $40,620 (+2%) | ETH: $2,439 (+18.5%) | BNB: $310 (-2.9%)