Bitcoin (BTC) saw a significant increase of 13.80% over the past seven days, reaching $71,926 on May 21. This places the cryptocurrency just 2.5% away from its all-time high. The rise in the BTC price appears to be driven by two main factors: growing optimism surrounding the approval of a US Ethereum Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) and a general market trend seeking protection against inflation, which is also affecting gold and the S&P 500 index to rise. to new all-time highs.
The approval odds for an Ethereum spot ETF were increased from 25% to 75% by senior Bloomberg ETF analysts on May 20. This adjustment came after the U.S. Senate on May 16 overruled the SEC’s Bulletin 121, which had imposed strict capital requirements on banks that hold customer digital assets. The Senate decision led to a strategic reassessment in the White House, signaling a shift in regulation toward cryptocurrencies.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who had previously shown reluctance in classifying Ethereum as a non-security or approving his spot ETF, requested updates to the spot Ethereum ETF filings on May 20. At least five ETF issuers have filed their amended 19b filings with the SEC. .
Bitcoin derivatives are showing moderately bullish sentiment, with an increase in demand for long BTC positions via monthly futures. The BTC futures premium has risen to 14%, the highest in five weeks, indicating moderately bullish market sentiment. The options market also reflects healthy sentiment, with a current skew of -8%, indicating that the market is not overly optimistic despite the recent price increase.
