Cryptocurrency markets remain buoyant amid Ethereum futures peaking to an all-time high of $15.1 billion, propelled by speculation of an imminent spot Ethereum ETF approval.

What Happened: Major cryptocurrencies are trading higher at the time of writing.

Prices as of 4 p.m. Eastern Time:

Notable Statistics:

• IntoTheBlock data noted a 53.8% surge in large transaction volume and a 7.7% increase in daily active addresses. Transactions greater than $100,000 increased from 5,333 transactions as of May 19 to 9,116 transactions as of May 20.
• Coinglass data noted 84,969 traders being liquidated in the past 24 hours; the total liquidations came in at $303.90 million.
• A Barrons report highlighted that the SEC has informed exchanges that it is leaning towards approving spot Ethereum ETFs.

Notable Developments:

• SEC Seeks Changes To Ether ETF Filings, Raising Approval Hopes
• Ethereum Rises 20%, Futures Open Interest Hits Record $15B As ETF Approval Odds Jump To 75%
• $241M Spot Bitcoin ETF Inflows On Monday Fuel Rally Above $70K
• SEC Could Approve Spot Ethereum ETF 'This Week:' Report

Top Gainers:

Also Read: Bitcoin Could Approach $80,000 By June: 10x Research

Analyst Notes: Lluciano aka Lucky tweeted that the current pullback below $70,000 is "completely normal and healthy." He goes on to add, "BTC needs some time to rest before it can firmly stay above $70,000."

He advises, "Just keep dollar-cost averaging into the good projects."

Stockmoney Lizards targets $80,000 as Bitcoin's next price level.

Dami-Defi notes that the "Sell in May and go away" crew will not be believing their eyes. He highlights Bitcoin's 5-year trend, "Oct to Apr buy: +1,449%, May to Sep buy: -29%," although "it could be different" this time.

What's Next: The influence of Bitcoin as an institutional asset class is expected to be thoroughly explored at Benzinga's upcoming Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.

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