First Mover Americas: BTC Holds Stable at $70K

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Bitcoin (BTC) is stable, trading above $70,000 as bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) total net inflow comes to $91 million. BlackRock saw inflows of $192 million on Thursday, while outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) picked up again. Almost $125 million flowed out of GBTC on Thursday, according to on-chain data. Up to Thursday, the bitcoin ETFs had reported a total weekly outflow of $227.9 million. Some industry participants say continued outflows from GBTC put selling pressure on BTC and drive down prices while others have a wait-and-see approach, highlighting that outflows are to be expected from GBTC, given its higher fee structure.

The stewards of the TON ecosystem formed a partnership with HashKey Group, the parent company of the Hong Kong-licensed crypto exchange of the same name. One of the aims of the partnership is to increase provision for Asia-Pacific users of messaging app Telegram's wallet to enter and leave the service with both fiat currencies and crypto. The TON blockchain started life as an in-house project by Telegram in 2018 and was abandoned two years later following legal action from the SEC. Members of the community then formed the TON Foundation to continue its development, with Telegram's endorsement.

Recent news that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating companies associated with the Ethereum Foundation is consistent with the view that there is no more than a 50% chance of spot ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval in May, JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report on Thursday. The bank reiterated its view that approval of these products is unlikely next month, a position first expressed in January. The SEC must make final decisions on some ETF applications by May 23. The regulator approved spot bitcoin (BTC) ETFs in January, stirring speculation in some quarters that versions for ether, the token of the Ethereum blockchain, may follow suit. “If there is no spot ether ETF approval in May, then we assume there is going to be litigation against the SEC after May,” analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote.

Chart of the Day

• The chart shows prices for bitcoin, gold and the U.S. dollar index (DXY) since October.
• Bitcoin's rally has stalled since setting record highs above $73,000 in mid-March, while gold continues to clock new lifetime highs, brushing aside the resurgent DXY.
• Analysts remain confident of bitcoin's prospects as U.S. debt concerns will likely force the Fed to cut rates this year.
• Source: TradingView

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