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BitMine's $20B ETH Plan Boosts Ethereum Price, Signaling Strong Market Sentiment
Do Kwon Pleads Guilty to Fraud Charges, Marking a Key Moment in TerraUSD's Collapse
Crypto ETFs Capture Record Inflows, Dominating Investment Products in 2024
The cryptocurrency market experienced significant changes today as Ethereum reached a multi-year high price and BitMine initiated an enormous accumulation plan. Further, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, Do Kwon, also pleaded guilty to charges related to the TerraUSD collapse, which increased regulatory concerns in the crypto industry.
Meanwhile, crypto-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are showing increasing popularity in the sector among institutional investors. This trend shows how the cryptocurrency market is growing in maturity and complexity.
Ethereum (ETH) has set a new multi-year peak on Tuesday, trading at $4,457 on Bitstamp, the highest since December 2021. A major announcement by the blockchain technology company BitMine Immersion Technologies prompted the rally.
The firm has disclosed that it intends to acquire between $20 billion and $25 billion worth of Ethereum to increase its accumulated ETH holdings to $24.5 billion. This maximum bundling approach created excitement around the market, with Ether soon reaching a new all-time high, only $500 short.
The chairman of BitMine, Tom Lee, and the co-founder of Strategy, Michael Saylor, have been raising eyebrows with their aggressive approach towards building up Ethereum. Lee intended to raise another 20 billion in ETH, creating a commotion in the crypto market.
Analyst Michaitel van de Poppe forecasted that Ethereum would hit an all-time high and then attract consolidations. The price behavior of Ethereum has been described as defying gravity, addressing masses of gains as other coins, such as Bitcoin, are facing price resistance.
Also Read: Crypto News Live: Bitcoin, Ethereum & Major Altcoin Updates
Ether is increasingly going bullish on the Ethereum market as spot Ether ETFs are experiencing unprecedented inflows. In July, inflows grew by $5.4 billion to these ETFs, a record high.
These investment products are performing well despite a slight pause in the flow in August, reporting a further billion in inflows on Monday. This influx points to the increased institutional appetite towards Ethereum.
These factors are accompanied by the emergence of crypto-linked exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which indicate the growing need for regulated access to digital assets. Ethereum ETFs rank among the best-performing in the market, with huge investments being made.
Ethereum funds, such as the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) established by BlackRock, have played a critical role in attracting institutional investors to the altcoin, implying that the Ethereum bull market is not reserved only for the retail market.
The co-founder of Terraform Labs, Do Kwon, was recently found guilty of two counts of fraud based on the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD. These charges are based on a multi-year court dispute caused by TerraUSD and its sister Luna token. Kwon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and wire fraud in the US District Court of the Southern District of New York.
The TerraUSD implosion erased billions of dollars and led to a contagion that hit multiple entities in the crypto space. The guilty case of Kwon is a real twist in the case, the latter having a possible 25-year prison sentence to face.
Kwon had been previously subject to arrest warrants in the US and South Korea and was captured in Montenegro in 2023. The current legal case has evoked questions about the future regulatory environment of stablecoins and how they might affect the broader crypto market.
The exchange-traded funds (ETFs) established since 2024 have considered crypto assets in half of the top 20 positions. This trend is indicative of the increased popularity of digital assets among mainstream investors. The top two ETFs in inflows are the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (BlackRock) with $57.4 billion and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund with $12.1 billion.
Besides Bitcoin ETFs, Ethereum-linked funds have grown in popularity, with iShares Ethereum Trust being one of them. The 2024 dominance of crypto-linked ETFs can be attributed to a change in investor sentiment, whereby digital assets became more attractive as OF products. The trend indicates an increase in institutional interest in cryptocurrencies, which bodes well for the further development of the market.
