Bitcoin traded higher this Thursday, 3, although the movement was limited throughout the session, after the asset reached its highest point in three weeks. Optimism regarding American trade negotiations boosted risk appetite; however, the publication of the U.S. payroll for June suggested a maintenance of interest rates by the Federal Reserve (Fed) in the upcoming meetings, limiting expectations for cuts in any of the next meetings. In the crypto market, institutional advancements caught the attention of investors this Thursday, the eve of the July 4 holiday in the United States, which will keep the markets closed.
Shortly after 4:00 PM (Brasilia time), bitcoin was up 0.12%, at $$ 109.68, and ethereum was up 0.26%, at $$ 2.59 according to Binance quotes.
A trade agreement between the U.S. and Vietnam boosted market optimism, with tariffs set at lower values than expected, according to SaxoBank.
Bitcoin was driven by reports that institutional investors were attracting capital to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on digital assets, with BlackRock's bitcoin ETF (NYSE:BLK) and iShares' new ethereum ETF gaining ground. Inflows into bitcoin ETFs reached nearly $$ 50 billion, a report from SosoValue showed.
This is another sign that cryptocurrencies are maintaining the attention of traditional investors and are consolidating as an asset class. Meanwhile, Ripple, which manages a dollar-backed stablecoin called RLUSD, has applied for a national banking license. It joins a series of cryptocurrency companies attempting to enter the traditional financial market.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expects that the regulation of stablecoins will generate "$$ 2 trillion in demand for U.S. Treasuries." When asked about the dollar, Bessent stated that "the value of the dollar has nothing to do with strong dollar policy" and reminded that "the decline of the dollar has been predicted many times in the past".