Cryptocurrency prices had a mixed performance this week as the recent rally appeared to lose momentum. Bitcoin initially surged to its highest point in more than 18 months and then pulled back to below $37,000. Ethereum also retreated below $2,000 while the total market cap of all digital currencies plunged to $1.37 trillion.

Ethereum ETF filings

The biggest crypto-related stories of the week came from the United States, where Blackrock and Fidelity filed their Ethereum ETFs with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

The filing followed their application for a spot Bitcoin ETF, which the SEC is still reviewing. On Friday, the SEC announced that it would delay its decision for companies Franklin Templeton and Global X. 

Analysts believe that the final decision for these ETFs will happen at the same time. The SEC will avoid playing favourite because of the first-mover advantage. For example, if it approves Blackrock’s ETF, it will put it at an advantage compared to other companies.

It is still unclear whether the SEC will approve the spot Bitcoin ETF but most analysts believe it will. In the case of Ethereum, the SEC will have more leeway to reject it since the agency sees it as a financial security.

The SEC changed its tune on Ethereum after last year’s merge event that saw it move from a proof of work (PoW) to a proof of stake (PoS) network. That transition introduced the concept of staking, which the SEC believes should be more regulated.

The other important crypto-related news was the decision by the OpenAI board to fire Sam Altman, the creator of ChatGPT. In a statement, the board said that it had no confidence in Sam and that the hiring process for the next leader had started. 

Sam Altman is a big name in the crypto industry because of his involvement with WorldCoin. As a result, the WLD token plunged by more than 10% as investors reflected on the implication.

Shiba Memu is firing on all cylinders

Meanwhile, Shiba Memu is still firing on all cylinders as the token sale continues to attract more investors. The sale has now reached over $4.5 million, which is a remarkable thing for a process that started a few months ago.

For beginners, Shiba Memu is a cryptocurrency that is at the intersection of meme coins and artificial intelligence (AI). As a meme coin, the developers hope that it will dethrone some of the existing tokens like Bonk, Shiba Memu, and Floki Inu. 

They hope to do that by boosting their marketing in a bid to create awareness of the project. At the same time, they hope that the ecosystem’s utility will help it to achieve success in the crypto industry.

We have seen several meme coins wake up recently. As wrote recently, Solana’s Bonk token, which surged in January, has jumped sharply in the past few months. Similarly, Memecoin, which has no utility, has achieved a market cap of over $200 million.

Therefore, because of Shiba Memu’s name, which has a similarity with Shiba Inu, and the fact that it has an AI angle means that it will likely rally after going public in the next few months or weeks. You can buy the Shiba Memu token here.

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