Bitcoin faced downward pressure, slipping below $63,000 as Mt. Gox initiated a significant transfer of nearly $3 billion in BTC from its wallet, part of its ongoing creditor repayment strategy. Earlier, BTC had approached $65,000 during Asian trading hours but retreated by 3% amid concerns that recipients of the transferred coins might sell promptly, exerting downward pressure on prices. The cryptocurrency later rebounded to over $63,500, marking a 1.6% increase over the past 24 hours. Concurrently, the broader crypto market, measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index, showed a 1.55% rise.

Meanwhile, reports indicated that spot ether ETFs could commence trading in the U.S. as early as next Tuesday, according to sources familiar with the matter. The SEC has reportedly refrained from further comments on recently submitted S-1 filings, indicating that final versions must be submitted by Wednesday for potential listing on exchanges by July 23. Ether (ETH) saw gains of 7.3% on Monday, outperforming bitcoin, and was valued around $3,410 at the time of reporting, reflecting a 2.2% increase in the past day.

Citi’s research report suggested that ether ETFs could attract inflows equivalent to 30%-35% of the levels observed for bitcoin products, projecting net inflows of $4.7 billion to $5.4 billion over six months. However, the report cautioned that actual inflows and the beta of ether returns relative to these flows might differ from initial estimates. Analysts noted that while ETH offers potential diversification benefits due to its broader range of applications, current circumstances do not fully support this premise. Investors, they added, might split their crypto allocations between bitcoin and ether ETFs rather than allocating fresh funds specifically to ether, citing potential limitations such as the absence of staking mechanisms in the ETFs.