Bitcoin saw modest gains after a rollercoaster week coming off the peak of $99.6K at the end of last week and bottoming out at $91.2K just a couple of days ago. Now sitting at $98.2K could we see BTC cross the $100K mark by the end of the weekend? Unlike traditional markets, crypto does not sleep and trades 24/7 around the world so stay tuned!

Bitcoin ETFs are very much still run like traditional markets and do sleep, so any gains over the weekend will be done without the help of the flow of funds from large institutions. Bitcoin Flow data from Farside appears to be missing yesterday's numbers at the time of writing but the week started off with over wiping out last Friday's half billion worth of inflows on the BTC side. Without the data from Thursday it’s kind of hard to tell where things are heading.

Positive signs from Ethereum ETF flows this week show a significant reversal of the previous week's outflows from major funds like Fidelity and Grayscale. This shift in sentiment could be attributed to increasing confidence in Ethereum’s ecosystem, particularly its robust DeFi and Layer-2 scaling solutions. Innovations in Ethereum's ecosystem, such as new Layer-2 integrations and protocol upgrades, have bolstered optimism. Additionally, rising interest from institutional investors likely signal growing recognition of Ethereum’s foundational role in decentralized applications, NFTs, and blockchain infrastructure. These factors collectively highlight Ethereum’s potential as a long-term investment and utility platform.

This week, the altcoin market saw strong momentum as several projects within the ecosystem gained attention. Higher than usual trading volume on XPR/XMD could be the result of renewed interest in its unique blockchain infrastructure Loan Protocol continued its upward trajectory, with its focus on DeFi lending gaining traction among users. Metal DAO stood out with ongoing ecosystem developments on Metal L2, including partnerships with leading decentralized protocols. Ripple’s XRP benefited from growing confidence in its cross-border payment solutions, while Hedera gained significant attention due to enterprise adoption and speculation around new ETF applications. As altcoins solidify their roles in the broader crypto landscape, their diverse utilities continue to attract both investors and builders alike.

These coins and more are available for trading on Metal Pay & Metal X.