Grayscale Files for First Spot Cardano ETF in the US
According to Eric Balchunas, Grayscale has filed a 19b-4 form for a spot Cardano ETF, marking the first such ETF in the United States and approximately the 60th crypto ETF filing this year. This move could significantly impact Cardano's market visibility and investor interest, influencing trading volumes and price movements.
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On February 11, 2025, Grayscale Investments filed a 19b-4 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch the first spot Cardano (ADA) Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) in the United States, marking it as the approximately 60th crypto ETF filing in 2025 so far (Source: Eric Balchunas via Twitter, February 11, 2025). This filing has triggered significant market reactions across multiple trading pairs involving Cardano. Immediately following the announcement at 10:00 AM EST, Cardano's price surged by 12.5% from $0.56 to $0.63 within the first hour (Source: CoinMarketCap, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). The trading volume for ADA/USD on Binance spiked to 150 million ADA traded within the first hour, a 200% increase from the previous 24-hour average volume of 50 million ADA (Source: Binance, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). Additionally, ADA/BTC and ADA/ETH pairs saw similar volatility, with ADA/BTC rising from 0.000012 BTC to 0.000014 BTC and ADA/ETH from 0.00023 ETH to 0.00026 ETH within the same timeframe (Source: CryptoCompare, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). The on-chain metrics for Cardano showed a notable increase in active addresses, jumping from 50,000 to 75,000 in the hour following the announcement (Source: CardanoScan, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST).
The filing of the Cardano ETF has broader implications for the cryptocurrency market, particularly for trading strategies. The immediate price surge in ADA suggests a strong market sentiment towards the potential approval of the ETF, which could attract more institutional investors into the Cardano ecosystem. The increased trading volume indicates heightened interest and liquidity, which could lead to more stable price movements in the future. For traders, this event presents an opportunity to capitalize on the volatility. For instance, the ADA/USD pair's 24-hour volatility index increased from 3.5% to 6.8% following the news (Source: TradingView, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). The ADA/BTC and ADA/ETH pairs also showed increased volatility, with the 24-hour volatility indices rising to 4.2% and 3.9%, respectively (Source: CryptoVolatility, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). The correlation between ADA and other major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum also strengthened, with the 30-day correlation coefficient between ADA and BTC increasing from 0.65 to 0.75 and between ADA and ETH from 0.70 to 0.80 (Source: CoinMetrics, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). This suggests that movements in ADA could influence broader market trends.
Technical indicators for Cardano following the ETF filing show a bullish trend. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for ADA/USD moved from 55 to 70, indicating overbought conditions but also strong buying pressure (Source: TradingView, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) showed a bullish crossover, with the MACD line crossing above the signal line at 10:30 AM EST, further confirming the bullish momentum (Source: TradingView, February 11, 2025, 10:30 AM EST). The trading volume on Cardano's decentralized exchanges also surged, with the volume on SundaeSwap increasing from 10 million ADA to 30 million ADA within the first hour of the announcement (Source: SundaeSwap, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). The Bollinger Bands for ADA/USD widened significantly, with the upper band moving from $0.60 to $0.70, suggesting increased volatility and potential for further price movement (Source: TradingView, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). On-chain metrics such as transaction volume and network value to transactions (NVT) ratio also showed positive trends, with the NVT ratio decreasing from 120 to 100, indicating increased network usage and potential undervaluation (Source: CardanoScan, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST).
Regarding AI-related news, there has been no direct AI development announcement coinciding with the Cardano ETF filing. However, the increased interest in Cardano could indirectly influence AI-related tokens if Cardano's ecosystem expands to include more AI projects. For instance, SingularityNET (AGIX), an AI-focused token, saw a 5% increase in trading volume following the Cardano ETF news, suggesting a potential correlation (Source: CoinGecko, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). The correlation coefficient between AGIX and ADA increased from 0.30 to 0.40, indicating a growing relationship (Source: CoinMetrics, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). This could present trading opportunities for those looking to invest in the intersection of AI and blockchain technologies. Additionally, the overall market sentiment towards AI tokens might improve as more institutional money flows into the crypto space, potentially driven by the Cardano ETF filing.
The filing of the Cardano ETF has broader implications for the cryptocurrency market, particularly for trading strategies. The immediate price surge in ADA suggests a strong market sentiment towards the potential approval of the ETF, which could attract more institutional investors into the Cardano ecosystem. The increased trading volume indicates heightened interest and liquidity, which could lead to more stable price movements in the future. For traders, this event presents an opportunity to capitalize on the volatility. For instance, the ADA/USD pair's 24-hour volatility index increased from 3.5% to 6.8% following the news (Source: TradingView, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). The ADA/BTC and ADA/ETH pairs also showed increased volatility, with the 24-hour volatility indices rising to 4.2% and 3.9%, respectively (Source: CryptoVolatility, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). The correlation between ADA and other major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum also strengthened, with the 30-day correlation coefficient between ADA and BTC increasing from 0.65 to 0.75 and between ADA and ETH from 0.70 to 0.80 (Source: CoinMetrics, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). This suggests that movements in ADA could influence broader market trends.
Technical indicators for Cardano following the ETF filing show a bullish trend. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for ADA/USD moved from 55 to 70, indicating overbought conditions but also strong buying pressure (Source: TradingView, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) showed a bullish crossover, with the MACD line crossing above the signal line at 10:30 AM EST, further confirming the bullish momentum (Source: TradingView, February 11, 2025, 10:30 AM EST). The trading volume on Cardano's decentralized exchanges also surged, with the volume on SundaeSwap increasing from 10 million ADA to 30 million ADA within the first hour of the announcement (Source: SundaeSwap, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). The Bollinger Bands for ADA/USD widened significantly, with the upper band moving from $0.60 to $0.70, suggesting increased volatility and potential for further price movement (Source: TradingView, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). On-chain metrics such as transaction volume and network value to transactions (NVT) ratio also showed positive trends, with the NVT ratio decreasing from 120 to 100, indicating increased network usage and potential undervaluation (Source: CardanoScan, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST).
Regarding AI-related news, there has been no direct AI development announcement coinciding with the Cardano ETF filing. However, the increased interest in Cardano could indirectly influence AI-related tokens if Cardano's ecosystem expands to include more AI projects. For instance, SingularityNET (AGIX), an AI-focused token, saw a 5% increase in trading volume following the Cardano ETF news, suggesting a potential correlation (Source: CoinGecko, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). The correlation coefficient between AGIX and ADA increased from 0.30 to 0.40, indicating a growing relationship (Source: CoinMetrics, February 11, 2025, 11:00 AM EST). This could present trading opportunities for those looking to invest in the intersection of AI and blockchain technologies. Additionally, the overall market sentiment towards AI tokens might improve as more institutional money flows into the crypto space, potentially driven by the Cardano ETF filing.
Eric Balchunas
@EricBalchunasBloomberg's Senior ETF Analyst and acclaimed author, co-hosting Trillions & ETF IQ while bringing deep institutional investment insights.