The valuation of the crypto market has surpassed the $300 billion mark, as bitcoin recovered to $8,200 and small cryptocurrencies experienced a spike in value over the past 48 hours. Slight Decline in MomentumOn July 25, at its peak, the price of bitcoin achieved $8,500, as its volume skyrocketed from $3 billion to $6 billion within merely hours. Since then, bitcoin has declined slightly by less than 4 percent and stabilized in the $8,200 region. As of July 26, the daily trading volume of bitcoin remains below $5 billion, down nearly $1.3 billion since its monthly peak on Wednesday. The volume of the entire cryptocurrency market has dropped by over $4 billion, from $18 billion to $14 billion. Stability in the $300 billion could be beneficial for the mid-term growth of the crypto market, as in April, when the price of bitcoin spiked from $6,900 to $10,000 without minor corrections, BTC endured a major drop by the end of May, sending its value down to the $6,000 region once again. While the majority of tokens tend to perform well during a sideways market in periods in which the price of major digital assets such as bitcoin and ether remain stable, some tokens have recorded large losses over the past 24 hours. GXChain, MOAC, IOST, and Bitcoin Private recorded losses in the range of 5 to 20 percent against the US dollar. Demand From Public Market is IncreasingCryptocurrency researcher BambouClub reported on July 25 that the price of the Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), a publicly tradable bitcoin instrument listed on the US stock market that is overseen by Grayscale Investment, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, was 48 percent higher than the current price of bitcoin. Throughout this week, BambouClub said that bitcoin was being traded in the public market via GBTC at a value of $12,273. Carpe Noctom, a prominent cryptocurrency analyst, emphasized that the GBTC premium and the demand for bitcoin in the US public market has significantly risen due to speculation around the approval of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in September.”GBTC premium over spot may be the prediction market for the upcoming ETF decision,” Noctom said, echoing the stance of BambouClub. Throughout the past week, many investors and analysts have attributed the rise in the price of BTC and other major digital assets to the entrance of institutional investors through Coinbase Custody and the increasing anticipation towards the approval of a bitcoin ETF by the end of 2018. However, the only way retail traders in the public market can invest in the bitcoin market as of current is through GBTC and cryptocurrency exchanges, suggesting that the hype around bitcoin ETFs may have intensified within the cryptocurrency sector. Based on the past decision of the SEC, it is more likely that the SEC will delay the approval of any bitcoin ETF until early 2019, as Brian Kelly noted, and possibly plan the launch of a bitcoin ETF by Cboe in February. Featured image from Shutterstock