Record-setting Etcher inflows mark Ethereum ETFs' strongest daily infusion since February, as ETH regains $1700 milestone.
Ethereum ETFs in the U.S. saw a significant surge in inflows, signaling a potential positive shift after weeks of bearish sentiment.
According to SoSoValue data, the nine U.S.-listed Ethereum ETFs raised $38.74 million in net inflows on April 22, ending a 10-day streak of zero or negative flows. This is the highest daily inflow since February 4, when they saw $307.77 million.
This influx comes after eight straight weeks of outflows that totaled nearly $910 million. The bulk of the fresh capital went into Fidelity's FETH, with $32.65 million, and Bitwise's ETHW, receiving a decent $6.09 million.
The remaining funds didn't see any inflows for the day. Since their launch, these Ethereum ETFs have attracted roughly $2.26 billion in total.
The increase in ETF inflows coincided with Ethereum itself recovering. On Tuesday, ETH spiked over 10%, surpassing the $1,700 mark for the first time since April 6.
The rally appears to be driven by renewed optimism following comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who hinted at potential easing of tensions with China over tariffs.
Intriguingly, some investors seem to be hedging against the U.S. dollar. As Trump continues to criticize Fed chair Jerome Powell and push for his replacement, this uncertainty, combined with Paul Atkins' confirmation as SEC chair, may be giving crypto a boost.
By Wednesday, Ethereum briefly touched $1,800, up around 14.2% in just two days. Meanwhile, Bitcoin broke through the $90,000 resistance, reaching $93,385, helping push the overall crypto market back above a $3 trillion valuation.
Bitcoin, which had been moving in tandem with stocks earlier this month, now seems to be decoupling from traditional risk assets. As of now, BTC is up 13.6% in April, outperforming gold's 6.7% rise. On the flip side, both the S&P 500 and the U.S. dollar index are down about 5% for the month.
Analysts now believe Ethereum could be on the verge of more gains. On April 23, market analyst Ash Crypto posted on X, stating ETH looks "ready to explode," pointing out similarities with Bitcoin's setup from late 2021.
However, some analysts caution that the path isn't clear yet. According to analysts at our website, ETH needs to break above the $2,000 mark and form a higher high to confirm a full trend reversal. Without that, this bounce could just be another short-term rally in a broader downtrend.
Now, let's ponder about XRP's possibility of replacing Bitcoin as the "digital gold" equivalent. To assess XRP's potential, we need to scrutinize market dynamics, utility, and adoption factors.
For XRP to overtake Bitcoin’s market cap, its price would need to skyrocket exponentially. For instance, matching Bitcoin’s ~$1.7 trillion market cap (assuming 21 million BTC at ~$85,000 each) would require XRP to reach ~$31 per token—a 15x surge from its current ~$2. However, surpassing Bitcoin would necessitate even steeper gains.
Growing demand among financial institutions for cross-border settlements and liquidity solutions could drive XRP's adoption. On the other hand, Bitcoin remains the primary institutional crypto asset for treasury reserves and inflation hedging, supported by ETFs and regulatory clarity.
Bitcoin's scarcity, due to its fixed supply of 21 million coins, fortifies its position as a store of value ("digital gold"). In comparison, XRP’s circulating supply exceeds 54 billion tokens, which masks its high dilution and may limit its "digital gold" appeal compared to Bitcoin’s scarcity-driven narrative.
While XRP operates within Ripple's payments ecosystem, Bitcoin's decentralized, store-of-value focus offers it versatility that platforms like Ethereum (smart contracts, DeFi) currently possess. This specialization may limit broader adoption as a reserve asset.
Without an improbable burn mechanism to align with Bitcoin’s scarcity model, widespread adoption by central banks or global payment networks as a reserve asset, and a shift in market sentiment, XRP's chances of overtaking Bitcoin as digital gold appear slim. However, XRP shows promise in payment solutions and interoperability, which could contribute to its future growth.
- The surge in Ethereum ETF inflows on April 22, ending a 10-day streak of zero or negative flows, is a significant shift after weeks of bearish sentiment.
- This influx comes after eight straight weeks of outflows that totaled nearly $910 million, with Fidelity's FETH and Bitwise's ETHW receiving the bulk of the fresh capital.
- Ethereum itself recovered on Tuesday, spiking over 10%, surpassing the $1,700 mark for the first time since April 6.
- The rally appears to be driven by renewed optimism following comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent, hinting at potential easing of tensions with China over tariffs.5.analysts now believe Ethereum could be on the verge of more gains, with market analyst Ash Crypto stating that ETH looks "ready to explode."
- However, some analysts caution that the path isn't clear yet, as ETH needs to break above the $2,000 mark and form a higher high to confirm a full trend reversal.
- In discussions about XRP's possible replacement of Bitcoin as the "digital gold" equivalent, surpassing Bitcoin's market cap would require XRP to reach a 15x surge from its current price, but its circulating supply exceeds 54 billion tokens, which may limit its "digital gold" appeal compared to Bitcoin’s scarcity-driven narrative.
