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Bitcoin {{BTC}} has fallen to just above $64,000 amid weakening sentiment toward risky assets including cryptocurrencies and the stock market crash. The decline led to the liquidation of over $250 million worth of bullish bets, the worst hit since early July. Bitcoin is priced at around $64,200 at press time, a decline of almost 3.5% in the past 24 hours. The broader digital asset market, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), fell 5.6%. The decline came after the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index posted its biggest decline since 2022 after Google parent Alphabet and Tesla reported mixed quarterly earnings.
Ether {{ETH}} is down more than 8% in the past 24 hours, outperforming the broader crypto market following $810 million in outflows from Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE). Most other ETH ETFs remained in the green on Wednesday, with BlackRock’s ETHA leading the way with net inflows of $283.9 million, followed by Bitwise’s ETHW with $233.6 million and Fidelity’s FETH with $145.7 million. ETHE’s bucking the trend mirrors the plight of Grayscale’s bitcoin equivalent, GBTC, which saw heavy outflows when it listed earlier this year. Ether was trading at $3,165 at press time.
According to data source DefiLlama and trading firm Wintermute, the total market value of the stablecoin sector, which includes hundreds of coins, has risen above $164 billion for the first time since the collapse of Terra in May 2022. It had been hovering around $160 billion. The expansion “reflects increased investor optimism and supports bullish sentiment,” Wintermute said in a note shared with CoinDesk. “The increase in stablecoin supply suggests that money is being invested in on-chain ecosystems to generate economic activity; this could be through direct on-chain purchases or yield generation strategies that could accelerate price appreciation. [market] liquidity. This activity ultimately drives positive on-chain growth.”
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Activity in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s ether futures reached new highs on Tuesday, as the launch of spot ETH ETFs in the U.S. increased investor interest in the second-largest cryptocurrency.
The previous peak of 7,550 contracts was set a month ago. The standard contract is sized at 50 ETH.
The CME saw 14,736 contracts change hands on Tuesday, three times the average daily volume of 5,010 contracts seen throughout July. Tuesday was also one of the top 10 volume days for ether futures.
Giovanni Vicioso, global head of cryptocurrency products at CME Group, said the increase in activity was due to the start of spot ether ETF trading in the United States.
Source: Chicago Mercantile Exchange
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