Bitcoin fell on Friday to end what should have been a momentous week for the cryptocurrency, with 11 Bitcoin exchange-traded funds launching in the US after a years-long battle for institutional acceptance of the asset.
Bitcoin’s price fell nearly 6% to $44,022.22, according to Coin Metrics, pushing most of the cryptocurrency market into the red, with some notable exceptions. On Thursday, it rose briefly to $49,058.48, its highest level since December 2021. It fluctuated above the flat line for the week.
Meanwhile, ether rose nearly 2%, extending gains made earlier in the week when it rose to levels not seen since May 2022 as investors turned away from bitcoin following widely expected SEC approval of ETFs. In Bitcoin and moving to Ether. It rose 18% during the week.
“In our view, the cryptocurrency market has already moved on to the next narrative, with Ethereum rising more than Bitcoin, likely on the expectation that the second-largest cryptocurrency token could also gain approval from the European Investment Corporation,” Alex Saunders, an analyst at Citi, said in a statement. “. Friday note.
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Bitcoin declines to end a flat week
The SEC is scheduled to make decisions on spot ETH ETF applications starting in May. BlackRock, Invesco, Ark, and VanEck are among the companies awaiting approval, as well as Grayscale, which is seeking to turn its existing Ethereum Trust (ETHE) into an ETF.
Ethereum has lagged behind Bitcoin in 2023, rising just 90% compared to Bitcoin’s 157%.
Many had expected the long-awaited Bitcoin ETF approvals to be a sell-off news event, with investors and miners sitting on high unrealized profits as the ETF narrative has sent Bitcoin soaring more than 60% in just the past three months. Market participants across the board agree that Bitcoin’s price will benefit from ETFs, but it may take some time for newcomers to cryptocurrencies to become more familiar with the asset and gradually enter the market.
“The possibility of Bitcoin being included in wallets takes on additional importance, although any large-scale inclusion in wallets is still some way off, in our view,” Saunders said.
Elsewhere, Litecoin, whose value proposition resembles Bitcoin’s original vision for an everyday means of payment, was another bright spot in the cryptocurrency market on Friday and is on track for a 14% weekly gain.
Cryptocurrency stocks fell along with Bitcoin. Coinbase and Microstrategy fell 5% and 7%, respectively. Even miners suffered major losses as of Thursday. CleanSpark fell 10%, Iris Energy fell more than 14%, Marathon Digital fell 12.5%, and Riot Platforms fell 6%.
— CNBC’s Michael Bloom and Nick Wells contributed reporting.