Traders continue to favor meme coins and low-cap cryptocurrencies, whereas Bitcoin investors are eagerly awaiting a swift decision on the ETF.
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) experienced relatively stable trading on Monday, following a weekend in which the crypto market lacked significant buying catalysts.
Bitcoin’s price hovered slightly above $29,300, while Ethereum’s price remained in the $1,850 range. In the past week, both of these assets have returned slightly more than 1 percent to investors. This has led to one of the less volatile periods in recent history.
Recent Bitcoin stagnation had a ripple effect on other major and mid-cap tokens, such as ADA from Cardano, SOL from Solana, and LDO from Lido. These tokens experienced limited price fluctuations, where sudden price shifts were swiftly counterbalanced and significant price declines were conspicuously absent.
The lack of notable market movements may push traders toward meme coins like SHIB (Shiba Inu) and PEPE (Pepe). Saturday’s release of a report by the data analytics company Santiment highlighted this trend. However, it is important to note that such meme coin rallies frequently coincide with local market peaks. The record-high open interest in SHIB futures is a notable red flag, which may indicate a cautionary signal for Bitcoin bullish movements in the coming weeks.
Santiment cautioned that, based on historical patterns, surges in speculative assets accompanied by minimal development activity could indicate that the entire cryptocurrency market is entering a “overheated” phase.
Aside from this, some market participants believe that a decision regarding the ETF could reignite the notorious volatility of the cryptocurrency market.
Luuk Strijers, the chief commercial officer of Deribit, shared some insights via email, noting that while the expected volatility in the options market (DVOL) remains relatively low, there has been a slight increase in Bitcoin (BTC) relative to Ethereum (ETH). This, according to Strijers, may be due to upcoming ETF-related news in the short term and the potential impact of halving in the long term.
Strijers added that, despite the low likelihood of immediate news regarding the ETF, any such announcement would likely have a greater impact on BTC than ETH.
