Investing.com– The price of bitcoin barely moved on Monday as concerns about high interest rates persisted ahead of key U.S. inflation data due later this week, while Ether saw a prolonged rally on moves toward a spot exchange-traded fund.
Cryptocurrency prices overall were also largely subdued as traders remained biased toward the dollar amid waning optimism about interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year.
fell 0.3% in the last 24 hours to $68,760.3 at 01:04 ET (05:04 GMT), remaining within a trading range established over the past two months.
But not the world. 2 was a key performer, rising 4.4% to $3,913.79, approaching a more than two-month high.
Ether boosted by SEC approval for spot ETFs
The world's second-largest crypto token saw a big boost over the weekend after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved applications from several major exchanges to list ETFs that directly track the price of Ether.
The approval now opens the door for the SEC to interact with fund operators, including VanEck, ARK Investment Management and seven other issuers that have applied to list their Ether spot ETFs.
Analysts expect the approval of spot ETFs to trigger a strong rally in Ether, similar to that seen in Bitcoin after the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year.
But Bitcoin has largely stagnated in recent months after initial enthusiasm for ETFs petered out. Capital flows into Bitcoin ETFs have also stalled in recent weeks.
Crypto Price Today: Altcoins Dim as PCE Test Looms
Fears of long-term high US interest rates have been a key point of pressure on crypto markets in recent weeks, especially after a series of Federal Reserve officials warned that persistent inflation would delay any plans to cut interest rates. rates.
This notion largely kept altcoin price movements muted. and fell 2% and 0.8%, respectively.
Meme and tokens lost 4.3% and 1.6%, respectively.
This week the focus is squarely on data, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge.
The reading is widely expected to influence interest rate expectations.
Still, traders were seen as largely discounting bets on a rate cut in September, according to the .
