From Bitcoin to Cardano: Industry overview

After the first US bitcoin futures-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) began trading on Tuesday, bitcoin price jumped more than 3% to $63,901, putting it at a six-month high and just shy of its all-time high. The market value of the world's largest cryptocurrency has risen in recent weeks, spurred by anticipation that a US debut is on the way.

The value of the digital currency has more than doubled from its low in late July. It's close to its all-time high of about $65,000 set in April of this year, and it's up more than 121 percent so far in 2021 (year-to-date). Its global acceptability is growing rapidly and more and more online businesses are accepting it as a form of payment. Cardano Casinos for example are growing exponentially in number.

According to CoinDesk, Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency and the coin tied to the Ethereum network, was up over 2% to $3,857. Cardano prices decreased 2% to 2.10, while dogecoin prices dropped more than 1% to $0.24. Other digital assets, such as Shiba Inu, Binance Coin, Solana, Litecoin, and Uniswap, have gained in the previous 24 hours, while XRP and Polkadot have lost.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has repeatedly rejected ETFs that are directly tied to bitcoin, citing market manipulation as a reason. According to AFP, SEC Chair Gary Gensler acknowledged that bitcoin futures could be volatile, but that the ProShares ETF is tied to a futures contract that has been regulated by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission since 2017. 

Other asset managers, such as Valkyrie Investments, VanEck, and others, are anticipated to establish comparable funds. However, Invesco, one of the world's largest asset management organizations, put its bitcoin futures ETF on hold on Monday.