After climbing to nearly $72,000 on Tuesday, Bitcoin’s price took a sharp dive, dropping to $66,400 by Thursday. This drop came just before the US SEC approved eight spot Ethereum ETFs, which initially spurred some excitement and recovery for Bitcoin, pushing it back up to around $70,000 over the weekend. However, the positive momentum was short-lived, and Bitcoin fell again, this time to $67,500. Currently, Bitcoin is hovering just above this local low, with its market cap now at $1.330 trillion. The total crypto market cap has decreased by approximately $30 billion overnight, settling at $2.680 trillion.
Part of the drop in value can be related to defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox moved 107,547 BTC, worth nearly $7.3 billion, to an unknown wallet. This movement precedes Mt. Gox’s plan to return BTC holdings to creditors by October. Blockchain tracking account Whale Alert reported the transactions, noting six significant transfers within hours. The transactions, involving multiple Mt. Gox cold wallets, were all directed to a single unlabeled address. Mt. Gox trustee firm Nagashima Ohno and Tsunematsu did not respond to inquiries about the transfer’s purpose. Analysts had previously warned that the movement of Mt. Gox-era Bitcoin could unsettle the market. Over $9.4 billion in Bitcoin is owed to Mt. Gox’s 127,000 creditors, who have been waiting since the exchange’s 2014 collapse. The final repayment deadline is October 31.
Most of the major coins also experienced a downturn but have recovered to neutral performance. Bitcoin Cash was hit the hardest among the top 20 altcoins, dropping by 4.5% in a single day. In contrast, Chainlink’s native token, LINK, stood out as one altcoins in the green. LINK surged by about 5% in a day, trading above $18. WIF, BONK and FLOKI performed well for the meme sector with gains all above 12% on the day. Celestia performed well with a 17% gain and NOT continues to perform well with a 33% gain.
In other market news, JPMorgan has expressed skepticism about the SEC’s readiness to approve more cryptocurrency ETFs despite the recent approval of spot Ethereum ETFs, which initially boosted investor optimism. Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, JPMorgan’s managing director and global market strategist, pointed out that the SEC views most cryptocurrencies as securities, casting doubt on the likelihood of further approvals. He highlighted the contentious nature of the Ethereum ETF approval due to the unclear classification of Ethereum as a security. Panigirtzoglou believes the SEC is unlikely to approve ETFs for tokens like Solana, as it considers them securities more strongly than Bitcoin and Ethereum. This development is crucial for the crypto market, as ETF approvals typically lead to increased institutional investment and market stability. Despite JPMorgan’s caution, the market has reacted positively, with a bullish trend following the Ethereum ETF approval and Solana’s value nearing $170. Financial institutions like Standard Chartered predict further ETF approvals for tokens like Solana and XRP by 2025. The SEC’s recent actions have boosted investor confidence, with U.S. Bitcoin ETFs seeing favorable inflows.
While the market remains volatile, the approval of Ethereum ETFs and the ongoing developments around Mt. Gox continue to influence price movements.
