This week, most of the leading cryptocurrencies have corrected significantly downwards but have partially recovered lost positions: BTC is now trading at 59000.00 (–7.4%), ETH is at 2975.00 (–10.1%), USDT is around 1.0006 ( 0.01%), BNB is near 562.00 (–6.5%), and SOL is around 136.00 (–4.2%). The total market capitalization dropped to 2.22T dollars by the end of the week, and the share of BTC on it was 52.7%.

The sector remains under pressure amid changes in investor sentiment after the Bitcoin halving on April 20, when many traders lost interest in digital assets, resulting in an outflow of funds from spot Bitcoin ETFs, which amounted to 328.0M dollars over the week, over the first three session of the current week – about 777.0M dollars, and for May 1 – 563.7M dollars. In addition, monetary factors put pressure on all assets alternative to the US currency. Market participants are concerned about the postponement of the start of interest rate cuts by the US Fed due to increasing inflationary pressure. Most experts hope US officials will begin easing monetary policy in September, but some believe the regulator may abandon it this year. The comments of the head of the department, Jerome Powell, made on Wednesday following the results of the regulator’s meeting could not significantly affect the quotes. He said no new monetary policy tightening was expected, but did not promise a quick reduction in its easing. Powell pointed out that the current year’s data does not give the regulator confidence in a sustained decline in inflation towards the 2.0% target, so the current “hawkish” rhetoric may continue for a long time. Thus, the factors of declining overall investor interest and the persistence of peak interest rates in the United States will continue to put pressure on the cryptocurrency market in the medium term. It is worth noting that many observers, based on historical data, indicate that after the Bitcoin network halving, digital assets always adjusted downward and began a new “bullish” cycle only after 50–100 days.

It is worth noting the launch of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) of trading spot ETFs based on BTC and ETH. On April 30, six new instruments from China Asset Management, Harvest Global, and Bosera and HashKey began working. Investments in the funds will be available to both Hong Kong residents and non-residents. Representatives of the corporation noted that the new instruments will help strengthen Hong Kong’s leading position as a leading financial center in the region. According to Bloomberg experts, the influx of funds into Hong Kong ETFs in the medium term could range from 0.5B dollars to 1.0B dollars. Agency sources also reported the possibility of the launch of spot exchange-traded funds based on digital assets on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), which, under favorable conditions, could take place as early as the end of this year. Currently, VanEck Australia, BetaShares, and DigitalX have submitted applications to create such instruments. Representatives of the ASX confirmed that negotiations on the launch of new ETFs are ongoing but did not give specific dates for their completion.

In general, the situation in the sector remains difficult since leading assets are no longer receiving support from the halving on the Bitcoin network, and the pressure of monetary and regulatory factors is increasing. Under these conditions, soon, most cryptocurrencies may continue to decline or begin to consolidate.