Crypto Markets Rally Ahead of Anticipated Ethereum ETF Approval

Crypto markets rallied on Monday as investors turned bullish ahead of the potential approval of Ethereum ETFs.

Bitcoin trades 2% higher at $63,000, while Ethereum spiked by 2%. Solana jumped 3%, and Polkadot climbed 3%.

Among the top 100 digital assets by market capitalization, Ethereum Name Service (ENS) and LayerZero (ZRO) lead the pack, up 17% and 14%, respectively.

Analysts had originally expected Ethereum spot ETFs to receive approval by July 2. However, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has since requested issuers to submit revised filings by July 8.

Data from CoinGlass indicates that in the past 24 hours, 33,692 traders were liquidated, amounting to $109.39 million. Specifically, $20.4 million worth of ETH shorts were liquidated. Short liquidations occur when traders betting against an asset are forced to cover their positions, often at a loss.

James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, noted that digital asset investment products suffered a third consecutive week of outflows totaling $30 million.

Ethereum had $61 million in outflows, totaling $119 million over the past two weeks and pushing the second-largest digital asset into net outflows for 2024.

Meanwhile, traditional financial markets staged a positive start to the second half of 2024. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.25%, and the Nasdaq bounced 0.5%.

This is a holiday-shortened trading week, with U.S. markets closed on Thursday for Independence Day. The June jobs report is due on Friday.