Bitcoin (BTC) News Today: Trump Crypto Plug Eye 52 Million as Spot ETF Flows Wane

US BTC-Spot ETF Market Flows and FOMC Member Chatter

Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 1.96% on Wednesday (May 8). Following a 1.31% loss on Tuesday (May 7), BTC ended the session at $61,141.

US BTC-spot ETF market flow data for Tuesday (May 7) set the tone for the Wednesday (May 8) session. According to Farside Investors,

• The US BTC-spot ETF market saw total net outflows of $15.7 million on Tuesday after total net inflows of $217.0 million on Monday (May 6).
• Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) saw net outflows of $28.6 million.
• iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and six other issuers reported zero net flows for Tuesday.
• Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO) registered the highest inflows on Tuesday, just $6.0 million.

Net outflows and hawkish FOMC member commentary were price-negative for BTC and the broader crypto market. On Wednesday, FOMC member Susan Collins discussed the US economy and inflation. The Boston Fed President said the economy needed cooling to return inflation to the 2% target. The comments suggested a higher-for-longer rate path to tackle sticky inflation.

BTC-spot ETF market conditions improved modestly on Wednesday amidst increasing uncertainty about a September Fed rate cut.

According to preliminary numbers from Farside Investors,

• Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) reported zero net flows on Wednesday (May 8).
• Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) saw net inflows of $11.5 million.
• Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund and six other issuers reported zero net flows for Wednesday.
• Excluding flow data for iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR), the US BTC-spot ETF market saw total net inflows of $11.5 million.

Former President Donald Trump Targets the US Crypto Vote

While the US crypto market faces increasing SEC scrutiny, former US President Donald Trump plugged cryptos. On Wednesday, Fox Business Reporter Eleanor Terrett covered the story, posting,

“I think this is the first time Donald Trump has openly endorsed (or even publicly spoken about) “crypto” instead of just Bitcoin. He even mentioned Gensler.”

Trump reportedly said,

“If you like crypto in any form…and it comes in many forms…if you’re in favor of crypto, you better vote Trump.”

The US crypto community could be a significant voter pool for Trump. In 2023, Coinbase kickstarted the StandWithCrypto campaign in Washington to raise crypto awareness on Capitol Hill. According to the campaign highlights, 52 million Americans own crypto.

Trump’s crypto plug highlighted the likely impact of the US Presidential Election on the crypto market. A Republican Party victory could end the SEC’s reign of regulation through enforcement.

The SEC may also have to reconsider its ongoing cases against crypto firms, including Coinbase (COIN), Kraken, and Robinhood (HOOD). A Trump win may also end SEC plans to appeal against the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling.

A crypto market-friendly Whitehouse could raise the prospects of an ETH-spot ETF market and even an XRP-spot ETF market.

Despite likely delays to launching an ETH-spot ETF, Grayscale remained optimistic about the SEC approving ETH-spot ETFs.

Grayscale Thinks the SEC Will Do the Right Thing on ETH-Spot ETFs

On Tuesday (May 7), SEC Chair Gary Gensler skirted a question if Ethereum (ETH) is a commodity or security and if there will one day be an ETH-spot ETF.

Nevertheless, on Wednesday (May 8), co-founder of ETF Institute Nate Geraci quoted from an interview about ETH-spot ETFs with Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein, who reportedly said,

Optimistic that the SEC will do the right thing by investors.”

ETH declined by 1.06% on Wednesday (May 8), ending the session at $2,976.

Technical Analysis

Bitcoin Analysis

BTC sat below the 50-day EMA while holding comfortably above the 200-day EMA, confirming the bearish near-term but bullish longer-term price trends.

A BTC break above the 50-day EMA and the $64,000 resistance level would support a move to the $69,000 resistance level. A breakout from the $69,000 resistance level would give the bulls a run at the $73,808 all-time high.

On Thursday (May 9), SEC activity, BTC-spot ETF market flow data, and Fed speakers need consideration.

Conversely, a BTC fall through the $60,365 support level could bring sub-$58,000 levels into play.

With a 43.31 14-Daily RSI reading, BTC could drop below the $58,000 handle before entering oversold territory.

Ethereum Analysis

ETH hovered below the 50-day EMA while remaining above the 200-day EMA. The EMAs affirmed the bearish near-term but bullish longer-term price signals.

An ETH break above the $3,033 resistance level could give the bulls a run at the 50-day EMA and the $3,244 resistance level.

Conversely, an ETH fall through the $2,900 handle could signal a drop to the 200-day EMA.

The 14-period Daily RSI reading of 41.33 suggests an ETH fall to the 200-day EMA before entering oversold territory.