Ether and trading stocks take the crypto spotlight as Congress passes historic stablecoin bill

Ether and various cryptocurrency stocks experienced a notable surge as the GENIUS Act moves closer to receiving President Donald Trump's signature. As of the latest updates, the price of ether has risen by 3.6%, reaching $3,558.68, marking its highest levels since January, according to Coin Metrics. In a groundbreaking development, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track ether's price saw daily inflows surpass those of bitcoin ETFs for the first time. These ether-focused funds attracted $602 million in net inflows, with BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) leading the charge. Meanwhile, bitcoin ETFs recorded inflows of $522 million on the same day. Just a day prior, the ether funds achieved a record influx of $726.7 million in a single day. The positive sentiment extended to crypto trading-related stocks, with Coinbase and Robinhood both seeing increases of over 4%. Bitmine Immersion, a stock linked to ether, experienced a remarkable rally, climbing 12% on Friday. In contrast, bitcoin experienced a slight decline of 1%, while bitcoin treasury firm Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, fell by 4%. Mining company Mara Holdings remained steady, showing minimal movement. Over the past week, ether has surged by 19%, bringing its two-week gain to approximately 43.6%, marking its most robust performance since August 2021. In comparison, bitcoin has dipped by less than 1% during the same timeframe. Additionally, BlackRock's recent filing with the SEC to incorporate staking into its ETHA ether ETF has further fueled optimism for ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency.