Bitcoin fell 2.42% from June 30 to July 7 to US$30,107 at 6:20 p.m. Friday in Hong Kong. The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization briefly fell to US$29,908 on Friday, before recovering above the US$30,000 psychological level. Ether fell 1.78% over the week to US$1,859.
The Wall Street Journal reported a week ago that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was less than impressed by Bitcoin ETF applications from firms such as BlackRock, WisdomTree and Fidelity Investments.
BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, refiled its spot Bitcoin ETF application on Monday, seemingly in response to the report, but so far the SEC has made no official comment on any applications.
“This strategic move indicates that BlackRock is actively working towards bridging any gaps between their proposal and regulatory expectations,” Lucas Kiely, the chief investment officer of digital asset platform Yield App, told Forkast in a statement.
“The SEC will thoroughly review BlackRock’s revised application, taking into consideration various factors such as investor protection, market manipulation risks, and overall market stability. The approval timeline remains uncertain,” Kiely said.
Yet, James Wo, the founder and chief executive officer of crypto investment firm DFG, said BlackRock’s refiled ETF application won’t necessarily increase the chance of acceptance.
“Since the SEC has not explicitly approved or rejected a particular [spot Bitcoin] ETF application at this point, it is hard to see how the SEC is leaning towards such ETF products, which are still a black box, and it is hard to say at this point when a spot Bitcoin ETF will be approved,” he said to Forkast.
On Tuesday, the price of Bitcoin rose to US$31,371, its highest since June 2022, as BlackRock’s refiled application fueled investor optimism.
In another boost to market risk appetite, Larry Fink, BlackRock’s chief executive officer, said crypto, especially Bitcoin, could “revolutionize finance,” during an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday. Fink was previously known for his anti-crypto stance, calling Bitcoin an “index of money laundering” in 2017.
Minutes of June’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting released on Wednesday revealed that most members were in favor of more interest rate hikes. Ahead of the next Federal Reserve meeting on July 26, the CME FedWatch Tool predicts a 88.7% chance for a 25-basis-point rate increase.
The global crypto market capitalization stood at US$1.17 trillion on Friday at 6:20 p.m. in Hong Kong, down 2.5% from US$1.2 trillion a week ago, according to CoinMarketCap data. With a market cap of US$584 billion, Bitcoin represented 49.9% of the market while Ether, valued at US$223 billion, accounted for 19.1%.
Notable Movers: MKR, BIT
Maker DAO’s (MKR) token was this week’s biggest gainer among the top 100 coins, rising 28.55% this week to trade at US$991.28. The coin started gaining last Friday amid increasing risk appetite in the crypto space
BitDao’s (BIT) token was this week’s second-biggest gainer, rising 19.75% to US$0.4538. The token also started its rally last Friday, after the protocol opened the voting for the MIP-23 supply optimization proposal, which will optimize the supply of the upcoming Mantle (MNT) token while burning some of the Bit token’s supply.
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Next week: Can Bitcoin rise above US$32,500?
“Bitcoin is now testing a major resistance area glued inside US$31,700-32,500. This area previously represented strong resistance in late May 2022 and seems to be acting as a strong resistance now,” Aziz Kenjaev, financial analyst and director of business development at cross-chain liquidity protocol Entangle, told Forkast, referencing the chart below.
“Next major pit stop for BTC would be US$34,450-36,000. However, to get to these levels, Bitcoin must close above the major resistance of US$32,500.”
Nilesh Verma, crypto market analyst and founder of Crypto Granth consultancy in India, agreed that Bitcoin needs to rise past US$30,000-32,000 for sustained bullish momentum.
“A successful breakout will open the way for US$40,000-48,000 before halving. US$30,000 is a psychological support level on the chart,” wrote Verma, in a Twitter response to Forkast.
On the macroeconomic front, investors will be looking forward to several speeches from Federal Reserve members, including vice-chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Michael Barr, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic, and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari.
In the U.S., the core consumer price index report for June is scheduled for release on Wednesday that could provide more insight on the Fed’s upcoming interest rate decision.
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