Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies dawdled as investors awaited the official SEC approval on spot bitcoin ETFs, a day after the regulator’s X.com account posted a false announcement on the highly anticipated news.
The price of bitcoin fell more than 2% Wednesday, extending losses from the previous day, to $45,398.66, according to Coin Metrics. Meanwhile, ether (ETH) rose more than 7% to $2,434.41. Earlier it rose as high as $2,453.04, its highest level since May 2022.
Both coins initially spiked on Tuesday afternoon in the short period before the Securities and Exchange Commission said its X account had been compromised and misinformed the public. Bitcoin rose as high as $47,901, though that was not the rocket ship rally many hoped to see. Ether climbed to about $2,390.
Bitcoin and ether over the past 24 hours
Wednesday marks the deadline for the SEC to either approve or deny the Ark 21Shares spot bitcoin ETF application. It is widely believed that the agency will approve several at once. Many investors have been expecting the decision to be a sell-the-news event, with so many sitting on high unrealized profits — a trend that historically precedes price corrections — according to data from CryptoQuant.
“As much as bitcoin demand will certainly gain from the approval of the ETFs … a price correction can’t be ruled out,” said Julio Moreno, CryptoQuant’s head of research.
If bitcoin rises significantly after upon the SEC’s ETF decision, bitcoin could be at risk of a correction to as low as $36,000, he added.
Meanwhile, investors are looking ahead to what comes after a bitcoin ETF approval, particularly for ether.
“Ether has taken a big hit against bitcoin in recent months, but on Tuesday we saw signs of a bottom for ether against bitcoin after the ETH-BTC rate rallied over 8% off the lows,” said Joel Kruger, analyst at LMAX. “It’s possible the market is starting to look past what it believes is now a…
Read the full article here