The sell-off was broad-based, with DOGE, SHIB, AVAX, and LINK diving more than 4% in less than an hour. A trading firm’s $27 million sell order for Ether could have triggered the decline, speculated one market observer. Additionally, a rampant U.S. dollar, fueled by a PMI report indicating a red-hot U.S. economy, may have accelerated the drop.
Cryptocurrency prices took a hit Thursday as market participants awaited a U.S. regulatory decision on spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds. Bitcoin (BTC) dropped below $68,000 during the early U.S. trading session, down from around $70,000 earlier in the day, sliding almost 3% over the past 24 hours.
ETH, which surged to its highest price since mid-March, climbing above $3,900 early Thursday, tumbled to near $3,700. Despite the drop, it remained in the green over the past 24 hours.
U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) reached a new record for holdings yesterday, with more than 850,000 BTC in custody, surpassing the previous high of over 845,000 BTC set in early April.
Among these ETFs, Grayscale’s GBTC holds the largest amount of Bitcoin with 289,300 tokens worth over $20 billion, followed closely by BlackRock’s IBIT with 283,200 tokens valued at $19.6 billion. Hashdex Bitcoin ETF is the smallest holder, with $12 million in Bitcoin. U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs now hold a record 850,707 BTC in custody, beating the previous high set in early April.