There was another horror in the virtual currency market. Ethereum, which was originally making great strides, suddenly took a big dive in the intraday market, and coins such as Bitcoin, BNB, and Solana followed the decline. Within 24 hours, more than 100,000 people had liquidated positions in the virtual currency market, and the total amount of liquidated positions reached US$391 million, equivalent to RMB 2.8 billion.

100,000 people burst out of stock

In the past 24 hours, the virtual currency market was once again on a roller coaster. Ethereum rose from $3,700 to $3,900, then dived below $3,700, erasing gains of up to 5%; Bitcoin dropped from $70,000 to $671,000.

At the time of press release, Ethereum reported 3668.76 US dollars and Bitcoin reported 66892.6 US dollars, all falling by more than 3% within 24 hours, Dogecoin and Solana falling by more than 6%, Toncoin by more than 5%, and BNB by 4%. According to CoinGlass data, within 24 hours, the number of people liquidated positions in the virtual currency market reached 108,000, and the total amount of liquidated positions was 391 million US dollars.

After the US stock market on Thursday, the US Securities Regulatory Commission (SEC) announced approval of plans related to Ethereum spot ETF transactions submitted by the NYSE, Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ, paving the way for Ethereum ETFs to be listed and traded in the US.

It is worth noting that this SEC approval does not mean that the Ethereum ETF has been fully approved. The US Securities Regulatory Commission approved Form 19b-4 for the Ethereum Spot ETF, which involves product trading rules, listing standards, and fee structures. Next, major issuers will still have to wait for their specific ETF listing plans to be approved, that is, the S-1 Form registration statement to take effect before officially stating “the Ethereum Spot ETF has been approved for listing.”

According to Reuters, while ETF issuers must also be approved before the product is launched, Thursday's approval was a major surprise win for these companies and the cryptocurrency industry, which until Monday had expected the SEC to reject these applications.

Institutions such as BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Ark Investment Management, VanEck, Franklin Templeton, and Invesco are all potential issuers of Ethereum ETFs. BlackRock's Spot Ethereum ETF is listed on the US Securities Depository and Clearing Company website (DTCC) under the code ETHA. Earlier, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved a Bitcoin ETF in January, a watershed moment for the industry.

Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks, an index provider for many Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, believes that Ethereum is more complicated than Bitcoin, and the SEC may take months to review relevant documents. However, since Bitcoin ETFs provide an established template, all the SEC can do is “take it slow.”

A range of investors, including hedge funds, wealth advisors, and retail investors, have invested more than $30 billion into crypto ETFs. According to US media, the SEC's decision on Thursday was another smooth breeze for the cryptocurrency industry to enter mainstream finance.

Some industry insiders said that the launch of an Ethereum ETF may cause market demand to soar, leading to a tight supply of Ether. However, there are also opinions that the introduction of an Ethereum ETF will cause the industry to begin an “internal roll”, which may have a negative impact on spot Bitcoin ETFs and Bitcoin itself, and that market capital will shift from Bitcoin ETFs to Ethereum ETFs.

Trump makes a “strange move”

Recently, in order to win over more voters, Trump made another “surprise move.” On Tuesday local time, the Trump campaign announced that it will begin accepting cryptocurrency donations. The Trump team claimed that the move was to unite those “who oppose the Biden administration's control of the US financial market.”

Trump's campaign said in a press release that supporters of former President Trump can donate using “any cryptocurrency accepted by Coinbase Commerce products.”

According to some US media, the above measures mean that Trump is on the opposite side with Biden and other Democrats on the cryptocurrency issue. Democrats, represented by Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, have always been outspoken in their criticism of cryptocurrencies and have been pushing to outlaw the cryptocurrency industry.

Elizabeth Warren has said she is building an “anti-crypto army” to limit Americans' right to make their own financial choices. And the Trump campaign wrote in a press release: “MAGA (Make America Great Again) supporters now have a new cryptocurrency option, and we will build a cryptocurrency army to win the November 5 election!”

In fact, Trump's stance on cryptocurrencies is also a 180-degree turn. A few years ago, he denounced Bitcoin as a “scam against the dollar” and said the central bank's digital currency was “very dangerous.” Over the past few years, he has said that cryptocurrencies are “an impending disaster” and that he “doesn't like cryptocurrencies.” But now he says he's “open to” cryptocurrencies.

The move opened up a new potential source of funding for Trump's campaign. Although Trump's campaign funding surpassed Biden's in April, his cash on hand still lags behind Biden. Cryptocurrency donations will be reported as in-kind donations, just like stock donations. The campaign team can then decide whether to monetize the digital currency or keep holding it.

On the other hand, accepting cryptocurrency donations can also attract more cryptocurrency fans for Trump. Cryptocurrency supporters tend to be younger and more masculine, according to a Pew Research Center poll in April of last year.

Earlier this month, Trump also hosted a lavish dinner for supporters of NFTs at his Sea-Lake estate. According to reports, during that dinner, Trump also specifically told cryptocurrency supporters that they “better vote” for him because the Biden administration “opposes” cryptocurrencies.

When CNBC asked the Biden campaign about accepting cryptocurrency donations, the Biden campaign did not immediately respond.

Editor/Jeffrey