Crypto Market Faces Volatility Amid ETF Launches and CFTC Nomination

The crypto market experienced a 1.73% drop in the last 24 hours, driven by growing uncertainty in the broader economic landscape and a wave of deleveraging in the derivatives market. This decline interrupts a larger positive trend, as the market had gained 2.81% over the past week. BTC saw a slight pullback, hovering around $113k, while Ether stood at around $4k.

Cryptocurrency Market Faces Pullback Amid Risk-Off Sentiment

Traders were liquidating positions, and open interest dropped by 5.98%. This added to more than 20 billion in liquidations that further increased market volatility.

Altcoins struggled in this landscape, with Bitcoin's dominance increasing to 59.07%. This direction means the flight of capital out of smaller coins, a sign of a muted altcoin season. Nevertheless, there was a significant increase in HBAR, which experienced a rise of 10% in this time.

New ETFs to Launch This Week

In other news , several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are set to launch this week, including the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL) and Grayscale Solana ETF (GSOL). These new listings highlight the increasing institutional interest in the market. The SEC’s recent adjustments in filing language have made the approval process for crypto ETFs more streamlined.

Michael Selig Nominated for CFTC Chair Amid Leadership Shake-up

Michael Selig, a senior official at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has confirmed his nomination to become the next chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Recently, Selig posted on social media that he intended to promote crypto regulations, which is one of the main priorities of his potential role. This is a nomination that President Donald Trump has made, but it has to be approved by the Senate.

Selig would take over Acting Chair Caroline Pham, who has already said she will leave upon confirming her replacement. The CFTC, which has experienced leadership difficulties since Commissioner Kristin Johnson left the Commission in September, has a partial panel at present. The appointment of Selig is regarded as an important move towards the regulation of the gaps in the market, particularly with the US effort to establish itself as a crypto capital.

Crypto Funds See Surge Amid Investor Confidence Boost

This was a phenomenal recovery in investment products in cryptocurrency last week, after a boom in investor confidence. CoinShares reported that exchange-traded products (ETFs) were subject to inflows of up to $921 million, which is more than the outflows of past weeks. This is a reversal of the situation that had just been experienced following the publication of US inflation statistics indicating a lower-than-anticipated Consumer Price Index (CPI) of September.

The figures that suggest a 3% inflation per year have increased expectations that the Federal Reserve of the US could introduce an additional rate cut. Consequently, Bitcoin was back on the track, making the new investments of $931 million.

Nevertheless, Ether experienced a minor decline, with the outflows of the company amounting to $169 million, the first time in five weeks. Nevertheless, leveraged Ether ETFs are still popular, which indicates that the wider crypto market is still of interest.

Australia’s Cryptocurrency Industry Calls for Regulatory Clarity

The crypto industry has objected to the draft digital asset laws in Australia. Although the legislation is mostly embraced due to its expansion of the finance sector regulation to the crypto sector, local players claim that critical issues are not addressed.

Caroline Bowler, the previous CEO of exchange BTC Markets, says that there is a need to clarify such matters as how local exchanges can tap into the liquidity of international exchanges. Another issue that is brought out by the draft laws is the introduction of various new licenses with minimal explanation of the benefits of the consumer or the risks that they are seeking to mitigate. The industry players, such as the Vakul Talwar of Crypto.com, have been encouraging the government to draft and present more precise regulations in the near future and it is hoped that a new bill will be ready by March 2025.