Bitcoin, Ether lose momentum after fresh highs
Bitcoin and Ether, the two largest cryptocurrencies in the world, recorded mild price drops after having soared to new records.
- Bitcoin (BTC) price eases to US$61,843 on Thursday
- Ether (ETH) price hit several record highs, even topping US$4,670
- Total AUM in bitcoin-based digital investment products jumped 52% last month
- Fintech specialists expect ETH to hit US$5,114 at end-2021
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BTC price edges down
On Thursday as of 18:47 SGT, bitcoin was trading at US$61,843.31, down 2.1% from the previous day.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency has mostly traded sideways since its all-time high of US$67,016.50 on 20 October 2021, Reuters noted.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that other derivatives-based funds that are more complex and riskier than BTC futures-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could be ‘a bridge too far’ for US regulators to accept at the moment.
For example, Direxion, known for its leveraged ETFs, on Tuesday withdrew its application to launch the Direxion Bitcoin Strategy Bear ETF, on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s request. Similarly, another firm last week scrapped its application for the Valkyrie XBTO Levered BTC Futures ETF, which would deliver 1.25 times the reference price of bitcoin, Bloomberg noted.
Indian digital payments firm Paytm on Thursday told Bloomberg TV that it would consider bitcoin offerings if the country’s authorities removed regulatory uncertainty surrounding crypto adoption.
Interest in blockchain tokens such as bitcoin and ether has swelled further. CryptoCompare’s research team found that the assets under management (AUM) in digital investment products surged 45.5% in October to a new high of US$74.7 billion. For bitcoin-based products, total AUM jumped 52.2% to US$55.2 billion, while ethereum-based funds saw a 30% increase in AUM to US$15.9 billion.
Read more: Beginner’s guide to day trading
What's next for ETH price?
The ether token was trading at US$4,542.28 as of 18:53 SGT on Thursday, down 0.9% from a day ago.
On Wednesday, the second-biggest cryptocurrency in the world scaled to a fresh high of US$4,643 during Asian trading hours. It then climbed further to touch US$4,670.81 during the afternoon in the US. Those topped the US$4,600 ether had reached just a day prior.
Reuters noted that the token, which underpins the Ethereum blockchain network, was following in the footsteps of BTC’s price rally and also fuelled by news of wider blockchain adoption.
Bitcoin’s bull run has boosted price momentum for other tokens on the base layer of blockchain networks, known as Layer 1 networks, Reuters reported.
Ethereum, in particular, has been the ‘clear winner’ among these networks, said OSL managing director Ryan Rabaglia. He added that this could mark ‘a substantial shift in a potentially prolonged market sentiment uplift’.
Meanwhile, 50 fintech specialists on average expected ETH to end 2021 at around US$5,114, a recent poll found. CoinFlip chief adviser Daniel Polotsky told Finder.com that Etherum’s growth may even surpass bitcoin over the next decade.
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