Five Things to Know in Crypto This Week: Ripple Settlement Hopes and XRP Breakout

BTC Demand Improves on More Dovish Fed Rate Path

Bitcoin (BTC) was up 9.51% to $66,528 from Monday, July 15, to Saturday, July 20.

Investors cemented bets on a September Fed rate cut, driving BTC demand.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of a September Fed rate cut increased from 96.3% (July 12) to 98.1% (July 19). A September rate cut may raise investor bets on a December Fed rate cut. Lower interest rates reduce borrowing costs, increasing demand for riskier assets.

Softer US inflation and labor market conditions supported a more dovish Fed stance on interest rates. This week, FOMC voting Member John William supported a September Fed rate cut following Fed Chair Powell’s rate cut signals.

US Presidential Election Polls Give Trump and BTC the Lead

This week, investor hopes for a crypto-friendly US Administration fueled BTC demand.

Republican Party front-runner Donald Trump targeted the crypto vote in May, stating,

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

Since then, Trump has announced Senator JD Vance as his running mate in the US Presidential Election. A Trump-Vance partnership could impact sentiment toward the US digital asset space.

Senator Vance has been a harsh critic of SEC Chair Gary Gensler. A Republican Party victory could see the end of SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s regulation through enforcement.

Significantly, Trump extended his lead in the national polls this week amidst rumors of Biden pulling out of the race. On Saturday, July 20, 538 gives Trump a 3.2-point lead in the polls, up from 1.9 points a week earlier.

A more dovish Fed rate path and a pro-Crypto White House could boost demand for BTC and US BTC-spot ETFs.

US BTC-Spot ETF Market Sees Three-Week Inflow Streak

The US BTC-spot ETF market continued to drive BTC price trends.

According to Farside Investors,

• The US BTC-spot ETF market reported total net inflows of $1,245.1 million in the week ending July 19. (Previous week: $1,047.6 million).
• Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) had total net outflows of $56.1 million. (Previous week: -$35.3 million).
• iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw total net inflows of $706.7 million. (Previous week: +$522.5 million).
• Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) reported total net inflows of $243.8 million. (Previous week: +$358.1 million).

Significantly, the US BTC-spot ETF market extended its net inflow streak to three weeks, easing concerns about supply-demand trends.

This week, Mt. Gox sent 48,641 BTC to Kraken, starting the repayment of over 141,000 BTC to creditors. Creditors may flood exchanges with BTC. US BTC-spot ETF flow trends could be crucial in the next few weeks.

BTC demand from the US BTC-spot ETF market previously countered supply from the German government, supporting a BTC return to $60,000.

SEC vs. Ripple: Settlement Hopes Drive XRP Demand

Speculation about an SEC vs. Ripple case settlement fueled another XRP breakout.

XRP surged to a Wednesday, July 17, high of $0.6378 on news of an SEC closed meeting. However, the SEC canceled the meeting, sending XRP crashing to $0.5409 on Friday, July 19.

On Friday, the SEC rescheduled the canceled July 18 meeting, refueling hopes of a settlement.

A settlement would end SEC plans to appeal against the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling and boost XRP demand.

From Monday, July 15, to Saturday, July 20, XRP was up 13.31% to $0.5901.

US ETH-Spot ETF Market to Launch on July 23

On Friday, July 19, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) announced that ETH-spot ETFs will launch on Tuesday, July 23.

According to the listings for July 23, 21Shares, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Invesco, and VanEck will launch their ETFs.

The markets expect all the issuers to launch at the same time.

Bloomberg Intelligence ETF Analyst James Seyffart shared the list of ETH-spot ETFs to launch next week.

From Monday, July 15, to Saturday, July 20, ETH was up 7.99% to $3,507. Near-term trends will likely hinge on ETH-spot ETF demand.