Ethereum
This Week in Coins: Bitcoin and Ethereum Pump, Then Dump, Amid Roaring Kitty Rush
Illustration by Mitchell Preffer for Decrypt.
Bitcoin and crypto investors received a lot of good news this week, even though the market still can’t break free from its highs from three months ago.
US Bitcoin spot ETFs absorbed net inflows of $887 million on Tuesday – the second best daily performance for ETFs to date. THE Bitcoin price surged above $71,000, reaching its highest price since March.
This performance was followed by not one, but two high-profile sponsors of the Bitcoin ETF, assuring investors that a second, much larger wave of institutions would be purchasing Bitcoin through the funds. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan wrote in a memo that progress on crypto regulation on Capitol Hill was untapped “alpha” for investors, while Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton, said ETFs had only been affected by their “first wave of early adopters.”
And at least in the memecoin world, the bull market seemed to be back in full swing. Bitcoin’s first-ever BRC-20 token, ORDI, surged more than 30% to $60 on Friday, while PUPS and Bitcoin Wizards (WZRD) more than doubled in value over the week, according to CoinGecko data .
Other more popular memecoins like PEPE, BONK, and SHIB haven’t been as lucky, all posting losses this week.
Solana-based GME coin has seriously risen, explode 467% at its peak this week, building on the momentum of its stock namesake Gamestop (GME). Meme influencer Roaring Kitty, who sparked Wall Street’s confusing GameStop movement in 2021, gave the stock a second wind with her surprise returns in both cases. Youtube And live broadcastwith his net worth briefly approaching the billion dollar mark-Before a cold shower on Friday from the games retailer.
In terms of performance, between Bitcoin and meme coins is Ethereum, which kept pace with Bitcoin’s gains this week as it moved toward an ETF spot launch. VanEck analysts released a long report arguing that ETH will reach $22,000 per unit by 2030, after snatching financial market share from Apple, Google and big banks.
Finally, as the Bank of Canada and the European Central Bank lowered interest rates this week, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes told his followers that it was officially time to start imitating Bitcoin and shitcoins.
But his call was perhaps a little premature: at the end of the week, cascading liquidation on Friday sent Bitcoin crashing from $71,000 to $68,000 and ETH from $3,800 to $3,600. Meanwhile, GME – both the stock and memecoin – fell more than 35% each.
Bitcoin is trading at $69,335 at the time of writing, while Ethereum is priced at $3,686. The price of GME meme coin has once again stabilized near $0.014.
Prices in effect as of 3 a.m. ET on June 8, 2024. Published by Ryan Ozawa.