Bitcoin Smashes $70K, Ethereum Pumps 12% On ETF Approval Bombshell: 'Odds Of Approval 75%,' Tweets ETF Analyst
Cryptocurrency markets are surging on strong Spot Bitcoin ETF weekly inflows and a bombshell development that spot Ethereum ETFs may have a good chance of being approved after all on Thursday. What Happened: Major cryptocurrencies are trading higher at the time of writing. Prices as of 4 p.m. Eastern Time: CryptocurrencyPriceGains +/-Bitcoin BTC/USD$70,115.06+5.9%Ethereum ETH/USD$3,443.39 +11.9%Solana SOL/USD$187.19+10.2%Dogecoin DOGE/USD$0.1576+5.8%Shiba Inu SHIB/USD$0.00002508+5.4%Bloomberg senior ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart sent markets into a frenzy after updating their ETF approval odds from 25% to 75%. Balchunas attributes the pivot to “chatter” that the Securities and Exchange Commission “could be doing a 180,” for potentially political reasons. Update: @JSeyff and I are increasing our odds of spot Ether ETF approval to 75% (up from 25%), hearing chatter this afternoon that SEC could be doing a 180 on this (increasingly political issue), so now everyone scrambling (like us everyone else assumed they'd be denied). See… https://t.co/gcxgYHz3om— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) May 20, 2024Notable Statistics: Coinglass data indicates Bitcoin open interest at $36.6 billion, an increase of 5.4% in a single day, the highest level in more than a month. IntoTheBlock data notes a 1.8% increase in large transaction volume and a 2.7% increase in daily active addresses. A 104.8% surge was seen in exchange net flows. A solid spot bid for Bitcoin is coming from Coinbase today, indicating the possibility of another day of inflows from the Spot Bitcoin ETFs. Bitcoin exchange reserves dropped to an all-time low of 1.7 million indicating an incoming supply shock. Notable Developments: NY AG Secures $2B Settlement Against Genesis Trading, Largest In New York’s Crypto History Venture Capital Interest In Crypto Revives: $2.4B Poured Into Bitcoin And Crypto Firms In Q1 2024 Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein Steps Down, Peter Mintzberg Appointed As Successor Top Gainers: CryptocurrencyPriceGains +/-Pendle PENDLE/USD$5.92+25.6%Pyth Network PYTH/USD$0.4596+21.6%Beam BEAM/USD$0.02927+18.6%Also Read: Bitcoin Fear And Greed Index Turns Bullish: 10x Research Highlights Key Trade Strategy Analyst Notes: Cryptocurrency traders and analysts are bullish following the new developments: Part-time researcher and crypto trader Bitcoin Ape notes the historic pattern that most market cycles follow and the current bull cycle "looks like it will be imitating a pattern from the last one." He writes that "the current consolidation is setting the stage for a run to another ATH before the market peaks." Additionally, as many altcoins have not yet made a new peak and so it is "unlikely that we have seen the market top yet." Bitcoin technical analyst CryptoCon predicts that Bitcoin is still on track for a layer 7 price target of $149,000 by the end of the year, while the more conservative layer 6 has a target of $108,000 by that time, which is the layer that marked the 2013 cycle top. #Bitcoin is still on track for a layer 7 price target of 149k by the end of this year.This is according to the most accurate measure for both 2021 cycle tops, the Log Regression Curves.The more conservative layer 6 has a target of 108k by that time, which is the layer that… pic.twitter.com/Hg3YyZO3Qf— CryptoCon (@CryptoCon_) May 20, 2024What's Next: The influence of Bitcoin as an institutional asset class is expected to be thoroughly explored at Benzinga's upcoming Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19. Read Next: Bitcoin Is Working Its Way Towards This ‘Liquidation Zone’ But There Is One Danger, Trader Warns Image: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.