Ether is expected to avoid much of the sell-offs that bitcoin experienced post its own ETF approval, Standard Chartered said. The largest digital currency fell as much as 20 per cent following the ETF approval as investors, including FTX, sold billions in holdings of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).
The fund was converted from a trust that holders couldn’t make redemptions from. Grayscale’s existing ethereum trust, however, holds a smaller portion of the total market capitalisation of ether, compared with the bitcoin held in GBTC.
“These factors should make ETH less vulnerable than BTC to a post-approval selloff,” Mr Kendrick wrote.
Bitcoin, meanwhile, is on course to advance for a fifth straight month in what would be the token’s longest such winning streak since a pandemic-era rally oiled by easy money.
The largest digital asset has risen about 2 per cent in January, a month of pronounced swings sparked by the rollout of the ETFs and shifting views on the outlook for US monetary policy.
A run of five straight monthly gains would be the longest since a six-month stretch spanning October 2020 to March 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The token hit a record high of almost $US69,000 in November 2021. It is currently trading at around $US43,024.
The token surged almost 160 per cent last year ahead of the launches in a wager that the ETFs will attract new investors.
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
