What to expect from crypto as US government shutdown ends?

Experts believe that the end of the shutdown will bring relief to the crypto market, but traders will likely remain cautious in the near future.

After 43 days of political paralysis, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is finally over. Both traditional markets and crypto reacted positively to the news. Still, the question remains: what comes next?

After news of the shutdown ending broke, Bitcoin (BTC) reached its weekly high of $106,658 before rebounding to around $101,000. Similarly, Ethereum (ETH) briefly broke above the $3,600 level before stabilizing at $3,400.

As sentiment improved, Bitcoin ETFs also broke their 5-day streak of negative flows, registering $500 million in inflows.

Bitcoin ETF net daily inflows and outflows | Source: BiTBO

Crypto market experts on the government shutdown

The shutdown, which affected over 800,000 federal workers, disrupted essential services, negatively affected the macroeconomic outlook, and, in turn, the crypto market. Still, experts are cautious about giving overly optimistic projections.

According to Lacie Zhang, Research Analyst at Bitget Wallet, the government shutdown compounded the risk-off shift caused by “cooling momentum in the AI trade, and ETF outflows”. Still, she maintains that the correction was “structurally healthy, helping reset leverage and paving the way for renewed institutional entry.”

Arthur Azizov, Founder and Investor at B2 Ventures, says that sentiment is shifting, but not toward excitement. Instead, investors are cautiously optimistic about the effects of the shutdown ending.

“I see the crypto market isn’t showing much excitement about the possible end of the 40-day U.S. government shutdown,” Azizov stated. “Yet, I believe the real boost for the market will come when the shutdown officially ends,” he added, concluding that ETF applications will play a big part in it.