Ethereum Consolidates Against Bitcoin – Dominance Shift On The Horizon?

CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index is up $525.09 today or 0.55% to $95337.10

• Up eight of the past nine days
• Up three consecutive days, up 1.08% over this period
• Up 15.7% month-to-date
• Up 2.06% year-to-date
• Down 10.68% from its all-time high of $106734.51 on Dec. 17, 2024 (based on 4 p.m. levels)
• Up 61.14% from 52 weeks ago (April 30, 2024), when it traded at $59165.57
• Down 10.68% from its 52-week high of $106734.51 on Dec. 17, 2024 (based on 4 p.m. levels)
• Up 78.33% from its 52-week low of $53461.36 on Aug. 5, 2024 (based on 4 p.m. levels)
• Traded as high as $95474.86
• Up 0.70% at today's intraday high

Note: CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX) at 4 p.m. ET close

Data compiled by Dow Jones Market Data

Dogecoin, the meme-inspired cryptocurrency that began as a joke, may soon find itself listed on Wall Street. Nasdaq has submitted a formal request to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list an exchange-traded fund holding Dogecoin.

Regulatory Approval in Progress

The application follows 21Shares’ filing on April 10 to create a Dogecoin ETF. Nasdaq’s involvement adds momentum to the proposal, but SEC approval remains a key hurdle.

The fund cannot begin trading until the regulator signs off, and that process could take months. The SEC is currently reviewing more than 70 crypto ETF filings, including similar requests for altcoins like Solana and Sui.

This ETF surge comes after President Trump’s new administration urged regulators to take a more crypto-friendly stance. Fund managers like Bitwise and Grayscale have also submitted competing applications as they race to capture demand for altcoin investment products.

Nasdaq Pushes for Consistent Oversight

While backing new crypto ETFs, Nasdaq is also calling for stricter and more uniform regulation. In an April 25 letter to the SEC, the exchange argued that digital assets resembling securities should be held to the same standards.

Unlike many other meme coins, Dogecoin operates on its own blockchain and uses a proof-of-work mechanism. This makes it functionally similar to Bitcoin but cheaper and faster for small transactions. As of April 29, Dogecoin had a market cap of nearly $26 billion and had processed over 40,000 transactions in the previous 24 hours.

Developers are also working to expand Dogecoin’s capabilities. In September 2024, QED Protocol and Nexus announced plans to launch a layer-2 solution to enable smart contract functionality on the Dogecoin network, a development that could increase its utility and strengthen the case for ETF inclusion.

The Road Ahead

Whether or not the SEC approves 21Shares’ Dogecoin ETF, the growing interest in altcoin-backed funds suggests a broader shift in how traditional finance engages with crypto. If approved, Dogecoin could join the growing list of digital assets accessible via regulated investment vehicles, bringing the meme token a step closer to mainstream portfolios.

Former Republican chair of an influential House committee, Patrick McHenry, is predicting "a wicked hot summer of legislation for crypto" as lawmakers quickly try to get bills to President Donald Trump by August.

Both leaders on Capitol Hill and leaders in the White House want to put laws in place for digital assets, McHenry said Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg's Sonali Basak as part of a webinar hosted by the Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy at Georgetown University.

"It's go time for digital asset policy," said McHenry, who was the former chair of the House Financial Services Committee from 2023 to the beginning of 2025. "This is going to be a wicked hot summer of legislation."

Since leaving Congress, McHenry has taken on advisory positions at Ondo Finance and a16z.

This week, lawmakers came back from their respective states after a two-week-long recess and could hit the ground running to pass bills to regulate stablecoins and another focused on market structure. Lawmakers have said Trump wants both bills on his desk as soon as possible. The House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a hearing next week focused on digital assets following other hearings that have focused on crypto and stablecoins.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune privately told Republicans on Tuesday that the Senate plans to vote on stablecoin legislation before Memorial Day, Politico reported, citing a person with direct knowledge.

Both the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee have advanced bills to regulate stablecoins, but have differences such as how foreign issuers, like Tether, will be regulated. Lawmakers are also working on a market structure bill, which is being viewed by some as "linked" to the stablecoin bill.

Former Commodities Futures Trading Commissioner Chair Rostin Behnam, who was also interviewed during the webinar, said there was an "impetus" during the previous Congress to get a stablecoin bill passed due to stablecoins' reserves mostly being held in U.S. Treasuries.

"From a U.S. financial regulatory standpoint — that's a red flag," Behnam said, adding that passing a stablecoin bill is "simpler" than getting a market structure type bill to the finish line.

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According to a recent report by Politico, the much-talked-about stablecoin legislation will get a full Senate vote in May. 

The report, which cites an anonymous source, says that Senate Majority Leader John Thune intends to hold a vote before Memorial Day (May 26). 

The Senate Banking Committee passed the legislation last March, with several Democrats voting against it. 

The legislation is meant to introduce clear rules for banking institutions and cryptocurrency firms that want to engage in stablecoin issuance. 

In order to create dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies, such issuers would need to apply for licenses. 

The stablecoin bill also introduces reserve requirements for issuance in order to ensure that tokens can be redeemed for actual dollars without any hassle. 

However, the bill has been criticized by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren since she believes that it does not sufficiently protect consumers. 

Despite some opposition from some left-leaning Democrats, the bill is still expected to secure bipartisan support. 

This would mark a major victory for the crypto industry, which has been clamouring for stablecoin rules.

In the meantime, stablecoins are gaining more prominence. Mutual fund giant Fidelity is reportedly considering entering the burgeoning sector. 

As reported by U.Today, crypto mogul Mike Novogratz recently predicted that stablecoins might replace the foreign exchange (FX) market within just five years. 

Major digital assets rose late Tuesday afternoon, with Bitcoin (BTC/USD) topping the $95,000 level.

The CoinDesk Market Index, which tracks dozens of digital assets including Bitcoin, increased 1.1% in the past 24 hours. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8% in late trading, the S&P 500 added 0.7%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.9%.

Bitcoin rose 0.5% to $95,371, according to CoinMarketCap data. The most popular cryptocurrency's 24-hour trading volume dipped 20.6% to $25.76 billion.

Ethereum (ETH/USD), the second-largest digital asset by market value, increased 1.6% to $1,823.

XRP (XRP/USD) added 0.01%, BNB (BNB/USD) eased 0.3%, and Solana (SOL/USD) gained 0.6%.

Dogecoin (DOGE/USD) dipped 0.2%, while Cardano (ADA/USD) added 0.2%.

The US 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.168% at 3 p.m. ET Tuesday, down from 4.216% Monday, while the five-year yield fell to 3.770% from 3.816%.

The total market value of the cryptocurrency industry rose 0.4% in the past 24 hours to $2.98 trillion, with trading volume down 18.9% to $74.05 billion.

Bitget, a cryptocurrency exchange with 100 million users, has announced a partnership with Avalanche to support community initiatives across India, one of the fastest-growing areas for crypto and Web3 developers.

The partnership will see at least $10 million doled out in mini-grants, scholarships, hackathons, and workshops to the Web3 community in the country. The initial focus will be in Delhi and Bangalore. Delhi is the most populous city in India, and Bangalore is known as the local “Silicon Valley.”

Cryptocurrency activity in India has surged over the past two years. According to CoinSwitch, a local exchange, crypto investment across the country accelerated in 2024, with the highest concentrations in Delhi (20.1%), Bengaluru (9.6%), and Mumbai (6.5%). Youth 18- to 35-years-old now account for nearly 75% of the country's crypto investors. While Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) remained popular choices, Dogecoin (DOGE) attracted the most investment in 2024, with other memecoins like Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Pepe (PEPE) also gaining significant traction.

India's tech market

The growth of India’s crypto ecosystem coincides with a wave of global exchanges either reentering the market or actively exploring a return. In February 2025, Bybit registered with local authorities and restored services in the country. In the same month, Coinbase began discussions with regulators seeking a comeback in the Indian market.

India is expected to be among the first countries to finalize a bilateral trade agreement with the United States, aiming to avoid the imposition of reciprocal tariffs by President Donald Trump. In addition, the country is reportedly seeking a pact with the US to gain access to certain technologies and exports.

According to Web3 venture capital firm Hashed Emergent, India already accounts for 12% of Web3 developers worldwide and contributed 17% of all new developers entering the crypto space in 2024.