Market Overview (Mar 18–Mar 24): Ethereum Spot ETF Update and Fed Decisions

Key Points

• Fidelity updated Ethereum Spot ETF document, MicroStrategy purchased additional BTC, and Europe banned self-custody wallet payments.
• The IMF asked Pakistan for crypto taxes for aid, Standard Chartered raised Bitcoin price prediction, and Contentos joined the NVIDIA Developer Program.
• The Federal Reserve plans to maintain current interest rates. Bitcoin price fluctuated significantly, and Real-world assets (RWAs) are gaining attention.

Explore the latest crypto news, from Fidelity’s Ethereum spot ETF to the Fed’s impact on Bitcoin. Dive into macroeconomics and crypto market trends.

Last week’s highlights big news (Mar 18–Mar 24)

Fidelity has updated the Ethereum Spot ETF document to include a Staking mode for customers. This could potentially complicate matters if the SEC allows Grayscale to convert the Ethereum Trust fund into an Ethereum Spot ETF with staking, especially in case of a large outflow similar to GBTC.

MicroStrategy, continues to believe in the strength of Bitcoin, having purchased an additional 9245 BTC (about $623 million) using proceeds from bond sales. This puts their total holdings at 214,246 BTC, bought at an average price of $35,160 per Bitcoin.

The SEC has delayed the decision for VanEck’s Ethereum ETF, setting the new deadline for a decision on May 23. In addition, Coinbase has been selected as the primary infrastructure provider for BlackRock and Securitize’s Tokenization Investment Fund, reinforcing its position in the crypto ecosystem.

Europe, in a move aimed at increasing transparency and security, has decided to ban payments from self-custody wallets, meaning crypto payments can now only be made through third-party companies like an exchange.

In Asia, Grab has partnered with Triple-A to enable users in Singapore to pay with crypto on its app, while the world’s largest pension fund in Japan (GPIF) is considering Bitcoin as part of its portfolio diversification plan.

The IMF is asking Pakistan to impose taxes on crypto investments and real estate transfers if they want to receive a $3 billion aid package to support their struggling economy. Meanwhile, Indonesia has seen a surge in crypto trading, reaching 30 trillion Indonesian Rupiah ($1.92 billion) in February, with the number of registered crypto investors reaching 19 million people last month.

Standard Chartered Bank has raised its end-year Bitcoin price prediction by 50% to $150K, citing the trend of investors diversifying part of their portfolio into Bitcoin. In addition, The Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) has issued new laws on digital assets, a significant step in legalizing and managing this type of asset.

Finally, Contentos has officially joined the NVIDIA Developer Program to integrate AI into its product line and services, which includes COS.TV and COS.SPACE. This partnership will likely bring significant technological advancements to the platform.

Read more: Bitcoin Spot ETF Explained: All Things You Need To Know!

Macroeconomics (Mar 18–Mar 24)

The Federal Reserve (Fed) has recently announced that it plans to maintain current interest rates but has also signaled an intention to introduce cuts several times before the year ends. Officials anticipate three cuts, each one by 0.25%, within this year.

The Fed Chairman shared several key insights during his announcement:

1. He confirmed that the current state of the economy is favorable.
2. Despite the robust economy, inflation remains high.
3. The Fed continues to sell bonds as part of its strategy.
4. The job market has regained balance, and job opportunities remain abundant.
5. Most Fed officials retain an optimistic outlook on the U.S. economy.
6. Projections for the unemployment rate sit at 4% this year, rising slightly to 4.1% by the end of next year.
7. While inflation is high, it remains within manageable levels.
8. It appears that interest rates have reached their peak for now.
9. The Fed plans to maintain current interest rates to prevent a rebound in inflation.
10. However, the Fed acknowledges that sustaining high-interest rates for a prolonged period can harm the economy.
11. The Fed will remain vigilant, ready to react if the unemployment rate increases.
12. The expected interest rate by the end of this year is 4.6%, gradually decreasing to 3.9% at the end of 2025 and further to 3.1% by the end of 2026.
13. The Fed has sold 1.5 trillion in bonds.
14. There are considerations to slow down the pace of bond sales.

Read More: Market Overview (Mar 11–Mar 17): Ethereum Dencun Upgrade and MicroStrategy Overtakes BlackRock

Prediction Market Crypto (Mar 18–Mar 24)

Over the past week, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) has experienced significant fluctuations before and after the Federal Reserve’s decision to maintain interest rates. Following this news, the price has stabilized sideways.

In recent months, the market has been closely watching the sale of BTC by the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and long-term investors cashing in on their investments. This has been compared to the influx of capital into Bitcoin spot ETFs, suggesting a shift of BTC from older investors to new investors, primarily from Wall Street.

In other news, real-world assets (RWAs) are gaining attention after relative quiet. The FED, in its article “Tokenization: Overview and Financial Stability Implications,” mentioned three RWA tokens: ONDO, CFD, and GFI.

Following an adjustment, the RWA coin line has rebounded strongly and evenly, showcasing the recovery of tokens such as POLYX, TRU, and ONDO. We expect to see a wave of RWA listings soon on Binance or other top-tier CEX platforms.

Currently, RWAs listed on Binance include MKR, LINK, TRU, ENJ, SNX, RSR, OM, POLY, PERL, LTO, XVS, STP, and POWR. Meanwhile, other platforms feature RWAs like ONDO, GFI, CFG, MPL, CPOOL, RIO, and NIBI.