Crypto Markets Trade Sideways as ETF Demand Hits Six-Month High

Markets are relatively calm on Friday after increased flows into spot Bitcoin ETFs translated into a volatile week for the broader cryptocurrency market.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and most blue chip tokens are trading with less than a percentage point change in the past 24 hours. BTC changes hands for $68,082 after a 0.8% rise, ETH trades for $2,539 with a 0.4% increase, and SOL is valued at $173 after a 0.9% price drop. The biggest winner in the top 100 digital assets is ApeCoin, with an 18% surge to $1.29.

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju highlighted that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF demand hit a 6-month high, with net flows totalling 64,962 BTC or $4.4 billion in the past 30 days. Ju’s chart aligns with numbers from CoinShares, which has underscored that large entities are increasingly favoring cryptocurrencies amid an expectation of a Trump win in November.

The crypto market has been volatile this week. Bitcoin looked like a slingshot, breaching $70,000 on Oct. 20, only to drop to $65,400 three days later. It has since bounced as investors prepare for the potential final stage of a lengthy sideways range between the aforementioned levels.

“This is one of the longest times spent in the Low Volatility Zone of the Weekly Bollinger Band Width,” wrote Bitcoin technical analyst CryptoCon. He highlighted that the asset has been trading for the past seven months in its current range, though he is bracing for “the bull market expansion.”

All Eyes on Trump vs. Kamala

Investors are also nervously awaiting who will become the next U.S. president and hopefully offer some direction for the crypto market.

Large entities have been ramping up their crypto accumulation with the prospect of a Trump re-election, CoinShares has stated. However, the hope hasn’t translated into a new all-time high for BTC, which sits just north of $73,000.

James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, told The Defiant he thinks a Trump victory is “already priced in.” That said, he reckons a Republican victory would push BTC past its current all-time highs, especially if Trump follows through with the Bitcoin Act – which Butterfill claimed would be even more important than the Bitcoin ETF approval.

Data research firm Kaiko published a report today that strengthens the case for a market awaiting the U.S. presidential race – and asserted that most traders are bullish.

Broader financial markets and more established crypto markets, such as derivatives, likely provide more insight into how the market perceives the election outcome than prediction markets and polls, explained Kaiko.

“In the realm of Bitcoin ETFs, where crypto intersects with traditional finance, investor inflows have surged,” the firm wrote. “Investors have been drawn to BTC futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), with open interest on the exchange hitting consecutive record highs over the past few weeks.”

Upcoming Economic Indicators

Two key indicators are on investors' radars moving forward: inflation figures and a jobs report.

The day after Halloween, the U.S. will release a new jobs report that will indicate the state of the economy. Last month, positive numbers triggered a short-term crypto rally from majors like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Later, and only two days after the presidential election, the Federal Reserve will issue a decision on interest rates.