Standard Chartered: ether price hits $8.000 this year
Standard Chartered anticipates that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) this week. The deadlines for the first round of spot ether ETF approvals are approaching, with VanEck’s due on May 23 and Ark Invest/21Shares’ on May 24. Geoff Kendrick, the Head of FX Research and Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered Bank, expressed an 80–90% confidence level in the approval happening this week.
Kendrick predicts that once approved, spot ether ETFs could drive significant inflows of 2.39–9.15 million ether in the first 12 months. This translates to approximately $15 billion to $45 billion in U.S. dollar terms, comparable to the inflows seen with bitcoin ETFs.
Standard Chartered has set a year-end price target for ether at $8,000, assuming spot ether ETFs receive approval. Kendrick’s analysis suggests that if ether keeps pace with bitcoin, maintaining a 5.4% price ratio, it could reach this target by the end of 2024. He also reiterated the bank’s previous forecast from March, projecting ether could reach $14,000 by the end of 2025 if bitcoin hits $200,000 by the same time.
The SEC’s recent request for amendments to 19b-4 filings for spot ether ETFs indicates progress toward approval, although it is not guaranteed. This request led Bloomberg ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas to increase their approval probability estimate from 25% to 75%.
Ether’s price has seen a substantial rise, increasing by over 19% in the past 24 hours, reaching $3,719 as of 6:49 a.m. ET. The GM 30 Index, which tracks the top 30 cryptocurrencies, also rose by 9.25% to 148.75 during the same period.
Source: The Block
Bitcoin surges past $71.000, ether jumps almost 20%
On May 21, 2024, Bitcoin surged past $71,000 during the European morning, driven by optimism about the potential approval of an ether ETF in the U.S. Bitcoin’s value increased by nearly 6% over the past 24 hours, reaching this milestone for the first time since early April. The broader digital asset market also experienced significant gains, with the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) rising more than 8.5% and ether (ETH) jumping almost 20% to over $3,700.
The market’s upward movement led to over $260 million in short liquidations, the highest since February 28, with ether shorts losing more than $115 million and bitcoin shorts losing just over $99 million, according to Coinglass data. The surge in ether’s price is attributed to favorable regulatory developments, as the SEC requested exchanges to update 19b-4 filings, signaling increased chances of spot ether ETF approval.
This regulatory optimism flattened the ether implied volatility curve and pushed 25-delta risk reversals to year-to-date highs above 18%. Traders have heavily bought $4,000 calls for May 24 and May 31, reflecting expectations of significant price movements. A Polymarket contract predicting ether ETF approval by May 31 jumped from 10 cents to 55 cents, indicating a 55% probability of approval.
Meme coins within the Ethereum ecosystem, such as MOG and PEPE, also surged due to the growing likelihood of ether ETFs being approved. These tokens are seen as leveraged bets on the growth of their underlying blockchain. MOG rose nearly 50%, and PEPE climbed over 20%. Viro, a core team member of Mog, explained that established meme coins are typically high beta assets for their native blockchain tokens. He noted that the market perceives MOG as having significant potential to catch up to PEPE, driving its outperformance.
Source: CoinDesk
Bitcoin hits record in Japan, Argentina and the Philippines
On May 21, 2024, Bitcoin achieved record highs in several countries, including Japan, Argentina, and the Philippines, driven by a 7% surge that brought it close to its U.S. dollar peak. In Japan, the price of one Bitcoin exceeded 11 million yen for the first time in history, reaching an all-time high of 11.2 million yen. This milestone occurred as the Japanese yen weakened against the U.S. dollar, losing 10% of its value since January.
Similarly, Bitcoin reached new heights in Argentina, hitting 63.8 million Argentine pesos on May 21, surpassing its previous high in March. Argentina continues to struggle with extreme inflation, currently at 290%, and significant currency devaluation. In the Philippines, Bitcoin briefly reached a record 4.18 million pesos, exceeding mid-March highs.
Bitcoin’s upward momentum also brought it close to or at record levels in several other countries, including Britain, Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Israel, Norway, India, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey. This widespread increase was noted by industry observer Thomas Fahrer on social media platform X.
Bitcoin’s price peaked at $71,650 on May 21, marking a six-week high and bringing it within 3.4% of its all-time high of $73,738, recorded on March 14. This rise coincided with the liquidation of a significant number of short positions. Crypto analyst Willy Woo highlighted that a month’s worth of Bitcoin short positions had been liquidated, suggesting the potential for further upward movement if another layer of short squeezes occurs.
Over the past 24 hours, 79,010 traders were liquidated, with total crypto liquidations amounting to $345 million, 78.5% of which were short positions, according to Coinglass. This wave of liquidations further fueled Bitcoin’s price increase.
In a recent market update, Markus Thielen, head of research at 10x Research, predicted that breaking through the $67,500 level could potentially lead to new all-time highs for Bitcoin. This optimistic outlook reflects the current bullish sentiment in the cryptocurrency market, driven by favorable conditions and significant liquidations of short positions.
Source: Cointelegraph