Crypto Survives Weekend Sell-Off, Hong Kong Approves Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs

Market Update Crypto prices suffered steep declines over the weekend following news of Iran launching drone strikes at Israel. Bitcoin and Ethereum reached respective lows of $60.8k and $2.85k, while many altcoins saw drops of over 20%. Open interest (OI) across all coins on Friday was $48 billion, and after the rapid price declines, approximately 25% of that was wiped, with total OI of about $36 billion at the time of writing. $BTC (-2.81%) and $ETH (-1.37%) have rebounded slightly with Bitcoin trading at $64.0k and Ethereum at $3,100. $ONDO (-1.32%) has emerged as one of the strongest performers throughout the downturn, trading almost 10% above Friday’s open as RWAs remain a leading altcoin sector. U.S. equities are mirroring crypto's declines, with the SPY and QQQ losing 0.87% and 1.37%, respectively. U.S. treasury yields are continuing to gain today as hotter-than-expected retail sales data is adding fuel to inflation concerns.Hong Kong has approved applications for multiple spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. In our view, the Ethereum approval carries more significance given many investors already have access to Bitcoin via other investment products, and the lack of clarity on whether the U.S. will approve pending Ether ETF applications. Bitcoin ETFs have had resounding suc