The crypto market's hot streak is continuing, and since the market closed on Friday, there have been some big movers. And in some of these cases, the moves have been driven by real developments, not just hype.
Ethereum (ETH -0.26%) has risen as much as 8.1% since the stock market closed on Friday, Filecoin (FIL -2.30%) jumped by 40.7%, and Hedera (HBAR -8.46%) was up 38.7%. As of noon ET Tuesday, the tokens were up 5.4%, 30%, and 22.1% since Friday.
Big crypto moves all around
Ethereum is rising in part because traders are still speculating that regulators will approve more crypto ETFs beyond the Bitcoin (BTC -1.91%) ETFs launched in the last few months. The next coin that is likely to get approval for one is Ethereum because of its size and recognition in the market.
If an ETF were approved, the purchasing activity around the coin could push Ethereum higher, in a similar fashion to the way Bitcoin has responded. Just last week, $2.4 billion flowed into Bitcoin ETFs.
Filecoin's rise was prompted by more fundamental news: It announced it will store Solana's (SOL -5.11%) block history, allowing Solana to move to more decentralized storage. This should be a win for both cryptocurrencies; Solana can now focus more attention on expanding the high-throughput network while Filecoin gets a significant partner.
Lesser-known token Hedera is benefiting from the growth in its SaucerSwap decentralized exchange, which now has over $127 million in total locked value, a gauge of how much investors are putting into the exchanges on the ecosystem.
Building the foundation of crypto's future
Individually, these moves may seem small. But together, they tell a story about where crypto is headed in the near future.
Bitcoin ETFs have been approved, which suggests that eventually, ETFs for Ethereum and other tokens could arrive too, bringing more money into the ecosystem and driving values higher. If an Ethereum ETF gets approved, there may soon be dozens of crypto ETFs.
The Filecoin and Hedera news is more useful for the industry long term. As more tokens and exchanges are launched, it's necessary for market makers to put value into the ecosystem, and that's part of what we're seeing with the SaucerSwap exchange. Filecoin helping Solana store its blockchain history moves that token toward the decentralized vision that so many advocates would like to see.
If Solana and Filecoin can work together to create an extremely fast, high-throughput blockchain with accessible storage, it would be a win for all blockchain users. This is where I think we will see more utility and financial products built in the near future.
Crypto is maturing before our eyes
Two years ago, crypto was still in the speculative trading days, and speculation in that market still exists, but major tokens like this are now focused on building real utility on blockchains. If that utility is combined with more investors putting money into the crypto ecosystem, it could create a reinforcing loop of value creation.
