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Crypto exchanges 10.07: Ethereum ETF beats Bitcoin

On Thursday, July 9, the crypto market recovered part of Wednesday's losses: Bitcoin rose about 1.5 percent to roughly $63,200, while Ethereum touched $1,746. The day's main theme was institutional money rotation - Ethereum ETFs outpaced Bitcoin funds for a fifth straight day. No new CASP licenses were issued in the Baltic and Nordic markets.

Toms Ābeltiņš

10 July 20266 min read

Thursday, July 9: after Wednesday's geopolitical shock, risk appetite gradually returned, and Bitcoin rose about 1.5 percent to roughly $63,200, while Ethereum touched $1,746. In the institutional segment, rotation continued: US spot Ethereum funds attracted inflows for a fifth straight day, pulling in about $70.5 million (almost all from Fidelity's FETH), while Bitcoin funds saw $84.9 million in outflows on July 8. No new CASP licenses were announced in the Baltic and Nordic markets on Thursday, but the MiCA landscape remains dynamic - according to the latest data, the register holds about 280 licensed service providers, of which only around 14 are authorized to operate trading platforms.

Thursday, July 9, 2026, was a recovery day for the crypto market: after Wednesday's geopolitical shock, risk appetite gradually returned, and Bitcoin rose about 1.5 percent during the day to roughly $63,200, while Ethereum touched $1,746. There were no major new regulatory licenses in the Baltic and Nordic markets on Thursday - neither the Bank of Latvia, the Bank of Lithuania, nor Finland's FIN-FSA announced new CASP licenses. The day's dominant theme was institutional money rotation: Ethereum exchange-traded funds attracted inflows for a fifth straight day and outpaced Bitcoin funds.

Market: risk appetite returns, Fed minutes cautious

Bitcoin rose about 1.5 percent on Thursday to roughly $63,200, and Ethereum touched $1,746, up around half a percent. The decline triggered on Wednesday by US strikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz was partly reversed on Thursday as the broader market regained risk appetite despite persistent geopolitical noise. In the background, investors digested the Federal Reserve's June 16-17 meeting minutes, published on July 8, which turned out to be cautious: under new Chair Kevin Warsh, the committee kept the base rate in the 3.50-3.75 percent range, but nine of eighteen officials project at least one more rate hike by year-end. This is a reminder that monetary conditions remain tight and that crypto volatility in the coming weeks will stay closely tied to macroeconomic data.

ETF flows: Ethereum outpaces Bitcoin

In the institutional segment, the day's main theme was rotation from Bitcoin into Ethereum. US spot Ethereum funds extended their inflow streak to five consecutive trading days, pulling in about $70.5 million on Thursday, of which almost all came from Fidelity's FETH fund with $69.2 million. The picture for Bitcoin funds was more mixed: on July 8 they saw about $84.9 million in net outflows, with the biggest losers being BlackRock's iShares fund at $59.1 million and Grayscale's GBTC at $63.7 million, while $52.8 million flowed into Grayscale's lower-fee Bitcoin Mini Trust fund - suggesting some investors are shifting within the fund family rather than leaving crypto altogether. For regional users, this rotation is a useful signal that institutional demand in the summer of 2026 is not uniform and is increasingly tilting toward Ethereum.

Region: no new CASP licenses, landscape stays dynamic

The Baltic and Nordic markets went through the past 24 hours without any major new licenses. The background picture, however, remains dynamic: according to the latest publicly available data, the ESMA register-based CASP pool reached about 280 licensed service providers across 25 EU and EEA countries on July 8, though only a small share - around 14 - are authorized to operate full trading platforms. Within the Baltics, Latvia has so far issued seven CASP licenses, Lithuania six, and Estonia three, reinforcing Latvia's position as the region's licensing leader. Norway's Firi, with more than 400,000 users, retains its status as the largest Nordic exchange, while Finland's Coinmotion and Northcrypto continue operating under FIN-FSA licenses. For regional users, this means the pool of licensed platforms keeps expanding, and competition for former unregulated exchanges' customers works in their favor.

Watchlist: the MiCA landscape after the July 1 deadline

This section is a reminder, not fresh news. The MiCA transition period ended on July 1, and since then only authorized CASPs may legally provide crypto services in the EU and EEA. The practical consequences continue to unfold: on June 29, Bybit announced it would gradually restrict Bybit Global services for EEA residents, redirecting customers to the Austria-licensed Bybit EU. Binance, which suspended core services for EU users after missing the deadline and withdrew its application in Greece in June, is reportedly considering Ireland and Latvia for a future MiCA license - though this remains a consideration, not a filed application, and the final word rests with the relevant regulator. Firi obtained its FIN-FSA MiCA license on May 22 and began expanding into Sweden. These are context points to watch in the coming weeks, not Thursday's events.

What this means for users

For regional users, Thursday's overall picture offers three takeaways. First, the market's recovery from the geopolitical shock shows crypto can still bounce back quickly, but tight monetary conditions and Fed caution mean volatility will stay elevated and leveraged trades remain risky. Second, the institutional money rotation toward Ethereum is significant, showing that demand for regulated products in the summer of 2026 is not focused on Bitcoin alone. Third, no new licenses were issued in the region today, but the MiCA landscape keeps strengthening, and a valid CASP license - not marketing promises - remains the key safety criterion when choosing an exchange.

Norriwire Briefing