Bitcoin ETF approval: crypto volume spiked, market cap rose

Following the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, Bitcoin made headlines worldwide, but what was the immediate impact on the crypto market?

The long-term effects of the Bitcoin (BTC) ETF approval remain to be seen and are expected to be positive by most market participants. Still, the immediate effects were not as clear-cut. After the United States released its statement on approving Bitcoin ETFs, Bitcoin trading volume skyrocketed from just under $40 billion to its current value of over 62%.

Bitcoin’s market cap similarly rose from about $890 billion to its current $910 billion — an increase of $20 billion, or nearly 2.25% — while the market cap of crypto as a whole rose from $1.77 trillion to a spike of $1.84 trillion before falling back to $1.77 trillion as of press time. About $7 billion entered and then left the market in mere hours.

This spike was also mirrored in trading volume, rising from about $86 billion to nearly $140 billion. This translates to a trading volume increase in the crypto market of nearly 63%.

According to CoinStats data, Bitcoin dominance — the percentage of the crypto market cap in Bitcoin — rose from 50.4% to a spike of 50.8%. Then, it quickly fell to its current value of 49.4% as investors took to more volatile altcoins, looking to capitalize on the market enthusiasm.