Bitcoin reached a three-week high of $73,800 last week, but has pulled back amid renewed geopolitical uncertainty following US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Islamabad and the failure of the US and Iran to reach a formal agreement, according to Simon Peters, cryptoasset market analyst at multi-asset investment platform eToro.
Markets were buoyed earlier in the week on the news of a two-week ceasefire; however, the failure to reach a broader deal to end the conflict, along with the US Navy’s move to blockade Iran’s ports, has brought a degree of caution back to the markets.
Looking ahead this week, alongside any further geopolitical developments, traders and investors will be focusing on the upcoming Producer Price Index (PPI) inflation data from the US. Investors will be watching to see if the recent spike in oil prices is starting to creep into the goods production chain and supply lines.
A stronger-than-expected PPI print could reinforce expectations for the Fed to remain on hold, or even tilt towards tightening again and raising rates, which may weigh further on risk assets in the near term.
Conversely, a softer inflation reading could support a disinflation narrative, even with high oil prices, potentially helping to restore some upward momentum to cryptoasset prices. Whether it would be enough for prices to break out of the $74,000 to $76,000 zone of resistance that we’ve seen since February, we’ll have to see.
BIGGEST MOVERS
$ZEC and $DASH were the top performing cryptoassets again last week, up 41% and 34% respectively following continued interest in privacy coins.
A number of key influencers in the crypto space have been advocating privacy on blockchain in recent months, citing that the industry is becoming too transparent, which is pushing crypto traders and investors towards these privacy cryptos.
Discover more here: https://www.etoro.com/discover/markets/cryptocurrencies/market-movers
EYE-CATCHING STORIES
Morgan Stanley launches spot bitcoin ETF
Morgan Stanley, one of the largest investment banks in the US, launched their much anticipated spot bitcoin ETF last week.
Trading under the ticker MSBT, the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust is the first spot bitcoin ETF to be issued by a major US investment bank, as opposed to an outright asset manager or financial services company.
The ETF saw a strong debut, recording over $33.8 million in inflows on its first day, with over 1.6 million shares traded. Speaking on Bloomberg Television, Morgan Stanley’s Head of Digital Asset Strategy Amy Oldenburg said their spot bitcoin ETF launch “had the best first day of trading for any of our ETFs since we’ve started the ETF product line”.
Morgan Stanley has a network of over 16,000 advisors who oversee $6.2 trillion in client assets, meaning MSBT could see significant inflows in the months to come. Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said that MSBT “could reach $5 billion in assets under management within its first year”, which, if all else remains equal, would put the ETF within the top five spot bitcoin ETFs in terms of AUM.
Morgan Stanley also has filings in place for a spot ether ETF and spot solana ETF, which could debut in the second or third quarter of this year.
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