Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were falling Friday as the sector remains fixated on the potential approval of exchange-traded funds tied to spot trading of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin
was down 1.5% to $43,450 over the last 24 hours. After a brief breakout above $45,000, the largest cryptocurrency now looks to have settled back into the trading range of $42,000-$44,000 that it has occupied since early December.
Speculation over Bitcoin ETF approval heightened after TechCrunch’ reporter Jacquelyn Melinek reported Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission would approve more than one spot Bitcoin ETF. Melinek cited sources close to the matter in a post on social-media platform X.
The SEC has a deadline of Jan. 10, to determine whether to approve the spot Bitcoin ETF application filed by ARK Invest and 21Shares but might also choose to approve multiple applications at the same time.
“Numerous meetings between the SEC, issuers, and exchanges have fueled the narrative of an imminent approval. The introduction of ETFs could usher in new investor cohorts from traditional finance, significantly improving market transparency and liquidity and bringing long term capital inflow in the digital assets market,” wrote Matteo Greco, research analyst at Fineqia International.
Beyond Bitcoin,
Ethereum
—the second-largest cryptocurrency— was down 2.7% at $2,222. Among smaller cryptocurrencies,
Solana
fell 6.2% but
Cardano
was off 7.5%.
Dogecoin
was down 2.8%.
Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com
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