Bitcoin has experienced a notable decline today, slipping below the $43,000 mark. Several factors contribute to this downturn, such as the market correction and the fading excitement around spot Bitcoin ETFs.
As of this writing, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) is $42,825.36, with a 24-hour trading volume of $41,325,224,272.12. This reflects a -5.46% price drop in the last 24 hours and a -2.06% price drop in the last 7 days.
The global crypto market cap is $1.76 trillion today, down 5.59% in the last 24 hours and 79.52% a year ago. As of today, BTC has a market cap of $837 billion, reflecting a 47.64% crypto market dominance. Meanwhile, stablecoins’ market cap is $135 billion, accounting for 7.7% of the total crypto market capitalization.
Bitcoin price triggers weekend panic
The highly unpredictable fluctuations following the approval of the first US spot Bitcoin ETFs continued in the last 24 hours, with a significant drop to under $42.K. Altcoins have fared just as badly, with SOL, ADA, AVAX, and others dropping by more than 5-6% in the same timeframe.
Bitcoin and the crypto industry had a very eventful week, with the US Securities and Exchange Commission poised to approve the country’s first BTC ETF. While that did happen on Wednesday, it wasn’t without complications, including a hack the day before that contained fake news, deleted and reposted statements, and controversial remarks from the agency’s head, Gary Gensler.
Naturally, this resulted in increased volatility, with multiple huge price fluctuations from Bitcoin. After the ETFs arrived in US markets on Thursday, the asset surged to a 21-month high of more than $49,000 before plummeting by three grand in minutes.
The market was less volatile on Friday, but only during the Asian and European trading sessions. As US trading hours came to an end, the principal digital asset fell below $41,600 for only the second time since the beginning of 2024.
It has reclaimed some ground and is currently worth approximately $43,000.
The crypto market at present
On Thursday, the much-anticipated debut of the ten Bitcoin ETFs saw around $4.6 billion in share trading. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which has been under a trust structure since 2013, led the way with $2.3 billion in volume, the highest first-day turnover for an ETF.
Shares of so-called crypto companies have also extended declines. MicroStrategy, a BTC proxy, plummeted for the sixth straight day, while miners Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms also fell more than 10%. Coinbase Global, the largest US crypto exchange, dropped 7.4%.
While BTC fell 7% following the adoption of the Bitcoin ETF, seasoned cryptocurrency professionals remain bullish.
Meanwhile, major industry figures see this fall as a significant buying opportunity, predicting a rally that may take BTC to $200,000. Here’s a closer look at the insights given by top analysts, which shed light on the short-term issues and long-term potential of the world’s largest crypto.
The DeFi Investor, a renowned crypto analyst, predicts repeated drops in the next months but sees them as profitable purchasing opportunities for those who trust in Bitcoin’s future. Notably, The DeFi Investor expresses optimism that BTC will hit new all-time highs within the next 1-2 years and emphasizes the importance of perceiving significant falls as opportunities to accumulate assets.
Simultaneously, another notable market expert, Michael van de Poppe, expresses a similar sentiment, attributing the recent decline in BTC’s price to the Spot Bitcoin ETF’s impact. Rather than viewing it as a negative development, Poppe emphasizes the short-term sell pressure caused by the transition from spot Bitcoin to ETF.
Furthermore, Poppe sees the move as a planned rotation by market participants, sending Bitcoin to levels above $200,000. Poppe sees the recent drop in Bitcoin prices as a purchasing opportunity.
Although most altcoins are now down, some have fared better than others. Such is the situation with Ethereum, which is down only 2.6% to $2,550. Binance Coin, Ripple, Dogecoin, and Toncoin have all decreased by less than 5%.
At the same time, assets such as SOL, ADA, AVAX, MATIC, BCH, DOT, and ATOM have fallen by more than 5% and up to 11% in the case of BCH.
The global crypto market cap has dropped by $80 billion in a single day to less than $1.7 trillion on CMC.
