Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF remains expensive at a 1.50% fee, losing market share to lower-cost peers despite resilient legacy assets. GBTC's lack of yield features limits Grayscale's ability to enhance the fund, unlike recent improvements for ETHE and GSOL via staking distributions. Significant embedded gains and tax consequences keep legacy GBTC holders in place, but new capital is deterred by high fees and no product enhancements.

Bitcoin has reclaimed several important technical levels, and improving momentum suggests the cryptocurrency could be setting up for another advance if key resistance is cleared. (Dreamstime)

Bitcoin resilience above $65,000 is attracting renewed investor attention, not only for its own prospects but also as a gauge of risk appetite across financial markets. After reclaiming several key technical levels, the cryptocurrency has begun to establish a modest uptrend, reflecting improved investor sentiment.

This weekly update tracks some of the largest cryptocurrencies by market share: Bitcoin and Ether. While both are considered high-risk assets, they possess foundational differences that investors should understand. We have also included XRP, as it was one of the largest cryptocurrencies when this series began. By definition, a cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography to secure its transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets.

Key Takeaways Bitcoin bounced back this week and now sits just below $65,000. Ether rallied to its highest level in over a month this week. Bitcoin is down approximately 26% year-to-date, while Ether has fallen roughly 36% year-to-date. Bitcoin Bitcoin was the world’s first decentralized digital currency. Since the first Bitcoin transaction occurred in early 2009, it has grown worldwide to a mainstream financial asset. While often volatile, as illustrated in the chart below, one can argue that the Bitcoin is highly resilient, especially as product innovation expands the ways investors can manage Bitcoin’s volatility.

Bitcoin’s closing price edged higher this week, rising almost 3% to move just below $65,000. However, BTC is currently down approximately 26% year-to-date and sits about 48% below its October 2025 record high. Learn more about Bitcoin basics for new investors.

Ether Ether is the native cryptocurrency run on the Ethereum blockchain platform, which launched in July 2015. It has the second largest market share, despite being the newest of the three assets discussed in this article.

Ether’s closing price also rallied this past week, climbing nearly 7% to its highest level in over a month. With that said, ETH is currently down approximately 36% year-to-date and is now roughly 61% below its record close from August 2025.

XRP XRP, which is owned by Ripple, was launched in 2012 and was one of the larger cryptocurrencies for some time until newer tokens entered the market.

Bitcoin vs. Ether vs. XRP An index has been created in order to chart these three cryptocurrencies together, considering their significantly different pricing histories. A logarithmic scale is used on the y-axis of this chart to better illustrate relative percentage changes and long-term growth trends, as opposed to absolute price fluctuations. The chart demonstrates which cryptocurrency’s price has shifted the most since November 9, 2017. At various points in history, all three have held the top spot but Bitcoin is currently in the lead.

On January 10th, 2024, the SEC approved spot bitcoin ETFs from a range of issuers such as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC), iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), Coinshares Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR). Review our spot Bitcoin ETF launch takeaways for a complete breakdown.

On July 23rd, 2024, a handful of spot ether ETFs launched from a range of issuers such as Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), Franklin Ethereum ETF (EZET), Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW), iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), Fidelity Ethereum ETF (FETH). For a deep dive, see our spot Ether ETF guide.

Originally published on Advisor Perspectives. 

For more news, information, and analysis, visit the Cryptocurrency Content Hub. 

This weekly update tracks some of the largest cryptocurrencies by market share: Bitcoin and Ether. While both are considered high-risk assets, they possess foundational differences that investors should understand. We have also included XRP, as it was one of the largest cryptocurrencies when this series began. By definition, a cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography to secure its transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets.

Key Takeaways Bitcoin dropped to its lowest level since September 2024 this week. Ether fell to its lowest level since April 2025 this week. Bitcoin is down approximately 33% year-to-date, while Ether has fallen roughly 47% year-to-date. Bitcoin Bitcoin was the world’s first decentralized digital currency. Since the first Bitcoin transaction occurred in early 2009, it has grown worldwide to a mainstream financial asset. While often volatile, as illustrated in the chart below, one can argue that the asset is highly resilient. Learn more about Bitcoin basics for new investors.

Bitcoin’s struggles continued this week as it reached its lowest level since September 2024. BTC is currently down approximately 33% midway through the year and sits about 53% below its October 2025 record high.

Ether Ether is the native cryptocurrency run on the Ethereum blockchain platform, which launched in July 2015. It has the second largest market share, despite being the newest of the three assets discussed in this article.

Mirroring Bitcoin’s movement, Ether’s closing price retreated again this week to its lowest level since April 2025. ETH is currently down approximately 47% halfway through the year and is now roughly 68% below its record close from August 2025.

XRP XRP, which is owned by Ripple, was launched in 2012 and was one of the larger cryptocurrencies for some time until newer tokens entered the market.

Bitcoin vs. Ether vs. XRP An index has been created in order to chart these three cryptocurrencies together, considering their significantly different pricing histories. A logarithmic scale is used on the y-axis of this chart to better illustrate relative percentage changes and long-term growth trends, as opposed to absolute price fluctuations. The chart demonstrates which cryptocurrency’s price has shifted the most since November 9, 2017. At various points in history, all three have held the top spot but Bitcoin is currently in the lead.

On January 10th, 2024, the SEC approved spot bitcoin ETFs from a range of issuers such as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC), iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), Coinshares Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR). Review our spot Bitcoin ETF launch takeaways for a complete breakdown.

On July 23rd, 2024, a handful of spot ether ETFs launched from a range of issuers such as Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), Franklin Ethereum ETF (EZET), Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW), iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), Fidelity Ethereum ETF (FETH). For a deep dive, see our spot Ether ETF guide.

Originally published on Advisor Perspectives. 

For more news, information, and analysis, visit the Cryptocurrency Content Hub. 

This weekly update tracks some of the largest cryptocurrencies by market share: Bitcoin and Ether. While both are considered high-risk assets, they possess foundational differences that investors should understand. We have also included XRP, as it was one of the largest cryptocurrencies when this series began. By definition, a cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography to secure its transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets.

Bitcoin Bitcoin was the world’s first decentralized digital currency. Since the first Bitcoin transaction occurred in early 2009, it has grown worldwide to a mainstream financial asset. While often volatile, as illustrated in the chart below, one can argue that the asset is highly resilient. Learn more about Bitcoin basics for new investors.

Bitcoin rose for the first time in five weeks, rebounding over 5% but still holding below the $70,000 threshold. BTC is currently down approximately 25% year-to-date and sits about 47% below its October 2025 record high.

Ether Ether is the native cryptocurrency run on the Ethereum blockchain platform, which launched in July 2015. It has the second largest market share, despite being the newest of the three assets discussed in this article.

Mirroring Bitcoin’s recovery, Ether’s closing price bounced back this week, rising over 9% but remaining below the $2,000 threshold. ETH is currently down approximately 40% year-to-date and is now roughly 63% below its record close from August 2025.

XRP XRP, which is owned by Ripple, was launched in 2012 and was one of the larger cryptocurrencies for some time until newer tokens entered the market.

Bitcoin vs. Ether vs. XRP An index has been created in order to chart these three cryptocurrencies together, considering their significantly different pricing histories. A logarithmic scale is used on the y-axis of this chart to better illustrate relative percentage changes and long-term growth trends, as opposed to absolute price fluctuations. The chart demonstrates which cryptocurrency’s price has shifted the most since November 9, 2017. At various points in history, all three have held the top spot but Bitcoin is currently in the lead.

On January 10th, 2024, the SEC approved spot bitcoin ETFs from a range of issuers such as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC), iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), Coinshares Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR). Review our spot Bitcoin ETF launch takeaways for a complete breakdown.

On July 23rd, 2024, a handful of spot ether ETFs launched from a range of issuers such as Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), Franklin Ethereum ETF (EZET), Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW), iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), Fidelity Ethereum ETF (FETH). For a deep dive, see our spot Ether ETF guide.

Originally published on Advisor Perspectives. 

For more news, information, and analysis, visit the Cryptocurrency Content Hub. 

Many investors remain on the sidelines when it comes to cryptocurrencies, but with new products entering the marketplace that may be changing. CoinDesk president of indices and data David LaValle and TMX VettaFi head of research and editorial Todd Rosenbluth sit down with CNBC's Dominic Chu on “ETF Edge” to break this all down.

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) hit an all-time high of $126,000 in October 2025, then crashed 52% to $60,000 by early February after the U.S. and Israel struck Iran. Now the BTC price is at $80,200, up 19% over the past 30 days, and trading above $80,000 for the first time since January.

The current rally is being driven by easing tensions in the Iran war, with Brent crude pulling back from a $126 spike last week to around $110 and lifting the bearish pressure that has weighed on the crypto market all year. With the Bitcoin price now holding above $80K, is this the start of a real recovery, and is the bear market finally over?

How Bitcoin Climbed From $66,000 to $80,000 in 30 Days

For most of 2026, Bitcoin had been stuck between $65,000 and $73,000, with most traders betting the price would fall further and oil prices weighing on the market. That changed on April 6, when an Axios report dropped that the U.S., Iran, and regional mediators were negotiating a 45-day ceasefire. The Bitcoin price jumped from $66,000 to $69,000 afterwards, wiping out $196 million in bets against BTC.

When Iran and the U.S. agreed to the ceasefire two days later, Brent crude tumbled 16% and BTC pushed to $71,600. The rally had more than just the geopolitical catalyst behind it—institutional money showed up alongside the easing tensions. Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF launched on April 8 with $34 million in day-one inflows, giving traders their first way to buy BTC through a major U.S. bank.

Moreover, Strategy’s April 22 purchase was the move that made the rally stick. The company bought 34,164 BTC for $2.54 billion on the same day Trump extended the Iran ceasefire indefinitely. The two events pushed BTC back above $77,000 and gave the market its first real reason to keep going higher since October.

By the end of April, Bitcoin had closed the month up 12%, marking its best month since the October 2025 peak. The 19% climb over the past 30 days is what happens when a market full of bets against Bitcoin gets caught off guard, institutional money steps in, and the news turns from threat to relief—all at once.

Three Signals That Suggest the Bitcoin Bear Market Could Be Ending

Bitcoin’s 19% rally shows the market dynamics is changing, but rallies are not the same as bottoms. So the better question is whether the on-chain data has actually shifted, or whether this is just price moves without anything backing them up. Here are three data points that say something has actually changed.

Bull Score Index Hit Neutral for the First Time in Six Months CryptoQuant’s Bitcoin Bull Score Index has spent the most part of the year below 40—the threshold used to mark firmly bearish conditions. However, on April 22, the index climbed to 50, hitting neutral for the first time since BTC peaked at $126,000 in October. The index tracks ten on-chain indicators including blockchain activity, investor profitability, and liquidity. When half of them flip back to bullish,it signals that  something has changed underneath the price.

The score pulled back to 40 by the end of April, and CryptoQuant’s research head Julio Moreno noted that a similar neutral reading in March 2022 turned into a fakeout before the bear market continued. So this signal is not a green light, but the fact that it left the bear zone at all is the first genuine improvement this cycle.

Bitcoin Stabilised at Its Previous Cycle High In November 2021, Bitcoin hit a then-all-time high of $69,000 before crashing 78% over the following year. When BTC peaked at $126,000 last October and started falling, the question was where the bottom would form. The price briefly dipped to $60,000 in early February before recovering to the $70,000 zone, and has held that range through every escalation in the Iran war.

In Bitcoin’s earlier bear markets in 2014 and 2018, the price never returned to its prior cycle peak. Only the 2022 bear market dipped below the 2017 high of $20,000, and analysts at the time called it an anomaly tied to the FTX collapse and crypto deleveraging. The fact that BTC has held the 2021 peak instead of breaking decisively below it suggests the market is treating $69,000–$70,000 as a real support for this cycle.

Strategy Kept Buying Through the Worst of the Crash Most institutional money panicked when the bear market hit. Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw roughly $6 billion in net outflows between November 2025 and February 2026 as funds pulled capital exactly when the price was bottoming. Strategy did the opposite—Michael Saylor’s company bought 89,618 BTC in Q1 2026 alone, its second-biggest quarter on record, paying an average of $75,500 even as BTC dipped as low as $60,000.

The buying continued through April, with more than 42,000 BTC added across the month and total holdings now past 818,000 BTC. When the largest corporate Bitcoin holder keeps stacking through the worst stretch of a bear market and pays above what the rest of the market was panic-selling at, that signals deep conviction in where Bitcoin is heading next.

Three Signals That Reflect the Bear Market Isn’t Over Yet

For every signal pointing toward a bottom, there is one pointing the other way. Three patterns from on-chain data and Bitcoin’s history suggest the rally is uncertain and the bear market may have another leg to run.

The 50/100-Week MA Crossover Hasn’t Triggered One long-term Bitcoin indicator has marked every major bottom since 2015—the moment the 50-week moving average crosses below the 100-week moving average. The crossover has flashed exactly three times in BTC’s history: April 2015, February 2019, and September 2022. Each time, this happened near a major bottom that the price has never revisited since.

The two averages have been moving closer together for months, but the 50-week is still holding above the 100-week and the crossover has not happened yet. The signal is a lagging one—it confirms that selling has already reached full capitulation, the moment forced sellers are out and the bottom is in. Until that happens, history says the real bottom probably has not formed.

This Same Setup Preceded the 2022 Bear Market CryptoQuant’s April report showed the 19% climb was driven entirely by perpetual futures demand, while spot demand—the actual buyers of Bitcoin on exchanges—stayed negative all month. The rally was leverage, not buying.

This exact demand structure appeared at the start of the 2022 bear market. Futures demand expanded while spot stayed weak, and the rally that followed eventually rolled over and Bitcoin slid back to new lows. CryptoQuant’s research team flagged the parallel directly, noting that rallies built on this kind of structure tend to be self-limiting. Without fresh spot buyers stepping in, this one could play out the same way.

Bitcoin Has Never Had 3 Green Months in a Bear-Market Year Across every prior Bitcoin bear market—2014, 2018, 2022—the BTC price has never closed three consecutive months in the green. Rallies always faded before reaching the third month. So far in 2026, BTC closed January down 10.1%, February down 14.8%, March barely positive at 0.19%, and April up 11.87%. That makes April the second consecutive green month, and May becomes the test.

If May closes in green, this would be the first time in Bitcoin’s history that a bear-market year has produced three consecutive monthly gains. This reflects that history is against it, but May will tell us whether the pattern breaks or the pattern plays out again.

What Would Actually Confirm the Bear Market Is Over We don’t think the Bitcoin bear market is officially over yet. The signals are too mixed for a clean call, which is exactly what a market in transition looks like. The level that would actually confirm the bottom is the 200-day moving average at $82,228—the line that has separated bear-market bounces from real trend reversals in every prior cycle.

Moreover Glassnode’s RHODL ratio—the metric measures how much Bitcoin is held by long-term investors versus short-term ones—is currently at 4.5. That is a level high enough to suggest the weak hands have already sold and most BTC is now in the hands of long-term holders. 

The only times this ratio has been higher were the 2015 bottom at 5.0 and the 2022 bottom at 7.0. So while nothing has officially confirmed the bottom yet, BTC is showing the same on-chain conditions it had at the end of every previous bear market. So, a green May close or BTC reclaiming $82,000 would be the first signal that the bottom is in. Until that happens, the worst might be behind us, but the bear market is not officially over.

The structural shift that began when the SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 has reshaped how institutions hold the asset. iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ:IBIT) accumulated over $54 billion in AUM, the fastest ETF launch in history, while Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (NYSE:GBTC) was forced to convert from a closed-end trust into a competitive spot fund. The third durable vehicle, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (NYSEARCA:BITO), predates them both and still serves a different audience entirely.

These three ETFs cover the spectrum of how institutional and retail capital now reaches Bitcoin: a low-cost, spot-flagship ETF, a legacy incumbent that had to adapt, and a futures-based product with a built-in income wrapper. Bitcoin trades around $82,836, off 12% over the past year but up 19% in the past month, and the relative behavior of these three funds during that move tells the story.

Why the access vehicle matters more than it used to Before January 2024, getting Bitcoin into a portfolio meant navigating a messy set of choices. Investors either held coins directly and dealt with custody, bought GBTC while it traded at a persistent NAV discount, or accepted the roll costs that came with a futures product. Once spot ETFs were approved, that entire menu collapsed. Pension funds, RIAs, and 401(k) platforms could finally access Bitcoin through the same operational rails they already used for equities. The shift marked the real start of the institutional era, and it had far more to do with access infrastructure than with price.

What comes next depends on the structure you choose. The funds below differ in fee levels, product design, and tax treatment, and those differences shape long‑term outcomes far more than any single quarter of price action.

IBIT: the flagship that set the new benchmark IBIT is the cleanest expression of the institutional thesis as it holds spot Bitcoin in custody, charges a 0.25% expense ratio, and, according to BlackRock’s most recent fact sheet, has 99.93% of assets in the underlying trust with the rest in cash. There is no derivatives overlay, no roll mechanism, and no discount-to-NAV history to manage around.

The mechanism connecting IBIT to the institutional theme is distribution. BlackRock’s iShares platform is found on virtually every major brokerage and in model portfolios across the United States, which is why the fund surpassed $54 billion in AUM faster than any ETF in history. Allocators who wanted Bitcoin exposure inside an existing iShares-heavy book could add it without onboarding a new issuer.

Performance has tracked Bitcoin closely. IBIT trades at $46 after a 21% move over the past month, with a 13% decline over the trailing year. The trade-off is inherent to any spot Bitcoin product: investors bear the full volatility of the asset, and the fund’s only job is to track it. There is no income, no hedge, no cushion.

GBTC: the incumbent that had to reinvent itself GBTC’s role on this list is structural rather than cost-competitive. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust spent years as the only mainstream Bitcoin vehicle available in brokerage accounts, traded at large premiums and then large discounts to NAV, and converted to a spot ETF on the same day IBIT and its peers launched. The conversion ended the discount problem but inherited a fee structure built for a different era.

That history is the reason it belongs here. GBTC is the case study for what the institutional era did to incumbents: forced fee compression, eliminated structural arbitrage, and turned a captive product into one option among many. Its higher expense ratio relative to newer spot peers means a long-term holder pays more in fees per dollar of Bitcoin held, which compounds against returns.

The fund still has a use case. GBTC trades at $63, up 22% in the past month and down 14% over the past year, and existing holders sitting on embedded gains face a tax cost from rotating into a cheaper vehicle. Grayscale also launched a lower-fee Bitcoin Mini Trust to retain assets that would otherwise migrate. For new capital, the fee differential is the reason most allocators default elsewhere. The trade-off is paying a higher expense ratio for the same underlying exposure that is available more cheaply nearby.

BITO: the futures wrapper for accounts that need it BITO is the contrarian inclusion on this list because it holds CME Bitcoin futures contracts and seeks to track the Bloomberg Bitcoin Index. The fund launched in October 2021, more than two years before spot approval, and was the first US-listed Bitcoin-linked ETF.

The mechanism that justifies BITO’s spot on the list is account compatibility. Some retirement plans, separately managed accounts, and institutional sleeves have rules that permit futures-based commodity products but disallow spot crypto vehicles. BITO is also structured to make monthly distributions, which gives it a profile closer to an income product than a pure tracker. That is meaningful for investors who specifically want Bitcoin exposure paired with cash flow.

The cost of the futures structure appears in two places. The expense ratio is 0.95%, well above IBIT, and the fund bears the cost of rolling expiring contracts forward, which in contango markets erodes returns relative to spot. BITO trades at $11, up 21% over the past month and down 43% over the past year; over five years, it’s down roughly 73%. The trade-off is direct: investors pay higher fees and roll costs in exchange for a structure that fits accounts where spot Bitcoin cannot go.

Picking among the three For most first‑time ETF investors entering Bitcoin, IBIT is the natural starting point. The 0.33% expense ratio, the depth of liquidity, and the straightforward spot exposure make it an easy vehicle to hold over multi‑year stretches without overthinking the mechanics.

GBTC speaks to a much narrower crowd. Existing holders managing their tax basis, or investors who specifically want Grayscale as the issuer, tend to stay put. Anyone bringing in fresh capital has to weigh the higher fee against the fact that the underlying exposure is identical to cheaper alternatives.

BITO fills a different need entirely. Some accounts simply cannot hold spot crypto products, and others want the monthly distribution profile that the futures structure creates. That flexibility comes with a cost. The five‑year performance gap versus spot Bitcoin is the number that matters most when deciding whether BITO makes sense over IBIT.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF now faces significant competitive disadvantages due to its high 1.5% expense ratio versus peers charging 0.15–0.25%. GBTC's structural drag guarantees long-term underperformance relative to both spot Bitcoin and lower-cost ETFs like IBIT and FBTC. Legacy holders remain due to tax implications and institutional inertia, but these are frictional, not fundamental, advantages.

This weekly update tracks some of the largest cryptocurrencies by market share: bitcoin and ether. While both are considered to be high-risk when it comes to investing, the two have foundational differences that investors should know. We’ve also included XRP, as it was one of the largest cryptocurrencies when this series began. According to Wikipedia, a cryptocurrency is “a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography to secure its transactions, to control the creation of additional units, and to verify the transfer of assets.”

Bitcoin Bitcoin was the world’s first cryptocurrency and decentralized digital currency. The first bitcoin transaction occurred in early 2009 and has since grown worldwide to a mainstream financial asset. It is often considered volatile, as seen in our first chart, but one can argue that it is also resilient. Learn more about some bitcoin basics for new investors.

Bitcoin struggled this past week, falling back below $80,000 and hitting its lowest level in nearly three weeks. BTC is currently down approximately 12% year-to-date and sits ~38% below its October 2025 record high.

Ether Ether is a cryptocurrency run on the Ethereum blockchain platform and was launched in July 2015. It has the second largest market share, despite being the newest of the three discussed in this article.

Ether’s closing price also faltered this week, dropping over 10% to its lowest level in six weeks. ETH is currently down ~29% year-to-date and is now ~56% below its record close from August 2025.

XRP XRP, which is owned by Ripple, was launched in 2012 and was one of the larger cryptocurrencies for some time until new coins joined the market.

Bitcoin vs. Ether vs. XRP An index has been created in order to chart these three cryptocurrencies together, considering their significantly different pricing histories. A logarithmic scale is used on the y-axis of this chart to better illustrate the relative percentage changes and long-term growth of these cryptocurrencies, as opposed to their absolute price fluctuations. The chart tells us which cryptocurrency’s price has changed the most since November 9, 2017. At one point or another, all three have been at the top. At the time of writing, bitcoin is in the lead.

On January 10th, 2024, the SEC approved spot bitcoin ETFs from a range of issuers such as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC), iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), Coinshares Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR). Here are some of the quick takeaways from the spot bitcoin ETF launch.

On July 23rd, 2024, a handful of spot ether ETFs launched from a range of issuers such as Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), Franklin Ethereum ETF (EZET), Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW), iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), Fidelity Ethereum ETF (FETH). Here’s what investors need to know.

Originally published on Advisor Perspectives. 

For more news, information, and analysis, visit the Cryptocurrency Content Hub. 

This weekly update tracks some of the largest cryptocurrencies by market share: bitcoin and ether. While both are considered to be high-risk when it comes to investing, the two have foundational differences that investors should know. We’ve also included XRP, as it was one of the largest cryptocurrencies when this series began. According to Wikipedia, a cryptocurrency is “a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography to secure its transactions, to control the creation of additional units, and to verify the transfer of assets.”

Bitcoin Bitcoin was the world’s first cryptocurrency and decentralized digital currency. The first bitcoin transaction occurred in early 2009 and has since grown worldwide to a mainstream financial asset. It is often considered volatile, as seen in our first chart, but one can argue that it is also resilient. Learn more about some bitcoin basics for new investors.

Bitcoin struggled for a second straight week, remaining below the $80,000 threshold and reaching its lowest level in over five weeks. BTC is currently down approximately 13% year-to-date and sits ~39% below its October 2025 record high.

Ether Ether is a cryptocurrency run on the Ethereum blockchain platform and was launched in July 2015. It has the second largest market share, despite being the newest of the three discussed in this article.

Ether’s closing price also continued to struggle this week, steadily inching lower and hitting its lowest level in nearly two months. ETH is currently down ~30% year-to-date and is now ~57% below its record close from August 2025.

XRP XRP, which is owned by Ripple, was launched in 2012 and was one of the larger cryptocurrencies for some time until new coins joined the market.

Bitcoin vs. Ether vs. XRP An index has been created in order to chart these three cryptocurrencies together, considering their significantly different pricing histories. A logarithmic scale is used on the y-axis of this chart to better illustrate the relative percentage changes and long-term growth of these cryptocurrencies, as opposed to their absolute price fluctuations. The chart tells us which cryptocurrency’s price has changed the most since November 9, 2017. At one point or another, all three have been at the top. At the time of writing, bitcoin is in the lead.

On January 10th, 2024, the SEC approved spot bitcoin ETFs from a range of issuers such as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC), iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), Coinshares Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR). Here are some of the quick takeaways from the spot bitcoin ETF launch.

On July 23rd, 2024, a handful of spot ether ETFs launched from a range of issuers such as Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), Franklin Ethereum ETF (EZET), Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW), iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), Fidelity Ethereum ETF (FETH). Here’s what investors need to know.

Originally published on Advisor Perspectives. 

For more news, information, and analysis, visit the Cryptocurrency Content Hub. 

This weekly update tracks some of the largest cryptocurrencies by market share: bitcoin and ether. While both are considered to be high-risk when it comes to investing, the two have foundational differences that investors should know.

Spot or index ETFs are good ways for ordinary investors to add cryptocurrencies to their portfolios, and there are higher-end options for the wealthy.