Ether
(ETH),
the
second
largest
cryptocurrency
by
market
value,
hovered
just
above
the
$3,100
mark
in
early
afternoon
U.S.
hours
on
Monday,
struggling
to
retain
gains
made
since
the
crypto
market’s
panicky
selloff
on
Saturday.
While
ahead
4%
over
the
past
24
hours,
ETH
is
lower
by
about
4%
since
rising
to
nearly
$3,300
earlier
Monday
on
word
(as
yet
still
unconfirmed)
that
multiple
Hong
Kong-based
spot
bitcoin
and
ether
ETFs
had
been
approved.
Downside
pressure
in
bitcoin
(BTC)
has
resumed
as
well,
with
that
crypto
now
modestly
lower
over
the
past
24
hours
to
$64,200
after
earlier
Monday
nearly
reaching
$67,000.
The
broader
CoinDesk
20
Index
is
ahead
0.68%
over
the
past
24
hours.
Alongside,
Solana’s
(SOL),
gave
up
a
large
proportion
of
its
overnight
gains,
dropping
to
around
$140
from
as
high
as
$155
early
Monday
morning.
That’s
also
down
from
$175
reached
on
Friday.
Bitcoin,
ether
and
the
rest
of
crypto
plunged
on
Saturday
–
with
bitcoin
dropping
to
the
$61,000
area
and
ether
below
$3,000
–
as
Iran
launched
a
bombing
campaign
on
Israel,
but
the
sector
had
regained
some
footing
later
in
the
weekend.
Singapore-based
digital
assets
trading
house
QCP
Capital
said
in
a
note
to
investors
that
historically,
buying
the
dip
on
the
outbreak
of
major
geopolitical
conflicts
has
been
a
profitable
trade.
Ed
Goh,
head
of
trading
at
liquidity
provider
B2C2,
said
the
firm
has
seen
consistent
buying
in
BTC,
especially
on
the
dip
over
the
weekend.
“57%
of
our
flow
has
been
to
the
buy
side,”
said
Goh.
He
also
added
that
altcoin
activity
remains
high
and
they
have
seen
a
bias
towards
buying
for
alts.
Bitcoin’s
halving
event
is
fast
approaching
on
April
19,
which
some
traders
are
predicting
could
trigger
a
short-term
“sell
the
news”
reaction
before
and
after
the
event.
Despite
the
setbacks,
some
altcoins
continued
with
significant
gains
on
Monday,
with
Ondo
Finance
(ONDO)
up
15%
over
the
past
24
hours
while
Render’s
RNDR
was
aheadp
12%
and
The
Graph
(GRT)
rose
9%.