He crypto market continued its bull run on Wednesday with most major cryptocurrencies rising. There was no major news about the overall industry, but small details are giving investors enough reasons to buy.
bitcoin (CRYPT: BTC) is up 3.2% in the last 24 hours as of 4 pm ET, solarium (CRYPT: SUN) has increased by 10%, and Close to protocol (CRYPT: NEAR) is up a whopping 18.6%.
The crypto industry takes small steps forward
Last night it was announced that Black Rock, Nasdaq, and the Securities and Exchange Commission met yesterday for the second time to discuss rule changes to include a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The possibility of an ETF coming to market has been speculation all year and these appear to be at least small steps toward making it a reality.
An ETF could bring new money to the cryptocurrency industry by making it more accessible. It is still relatively difficult to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, so a low-cost exchange-traded fund would allow investors to gain access without having crypto wallets or working with centralized crypto exchanges.
Solana's rise continues, helped by the news that it now hosts a more decentralized trading volume than Ethereum. Solana's low cost and fast speed have made it a go-to blockchain for developers and that is helping to boost the token.
Near Protocol is seeing an influx of investor interest today as blockchain attracts more developers and collaborations, opening up potential use cases.
Investors and public services
The two drivers of cryptocurrencies right now are the flow of funds into the industry and the utility being built on the blockchain. All three cryptocurrencies are benefiting from that.
A Bitcoin ETF could attract more investors with a low-cost financial instrument and that could pave the way for more cryptocurrencies to get ETFs. And the SEC's positive decision, in this case, could lead to a thaw in cryptocurrency regulation in general.
I think the long-term driver of the industry will be a growing number of blockchain use cases. From financial instruments to logistics uses, companies large and small are testing how they can use blockchain. I think that will open up more use cases and companies created with this technology.
It's less clear how that will benefit specific tokens. Solana, for example, is so low-cost that even a large increase in transactions won't increase fees, and tokens like the stablecoin USD currency can be used as a means of transaction.
Speculation remains rampant in the cryptocurrency space and that is driving much of the short-term value increase. But there are improvements in the underlying technology and utility, which investors should not overlook. And as long as there is an influx of funds and an increase in innovation, the market can continue to rise.
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Travis Hoium has positions in Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool recommends Nasdaq. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Why Bitcoin, Solana and Near Protocol jumped on Wednesday was originally published by The Motley Fool
