[ad_1]
Bitcoin ended what should have been an important week for the cryptocurrency on Friday, with the launch of 11 Bitcoin ETFs in the US following a year-long battle for institutional acceptance of the asset.
value of Bitcoin It fell nearly 6% to $44,022.22, according to Coin Metrics, putting most of the crypto market in the red with a few notable exceptions. On Thursday, it briefly rose to $49,058.48, its highest level since December 2021. It wavered on the flat line for the week.
During this, ether Hovered below the flat line, trimming earlier gains. It surged 18% this week to its highest level since May 2022 as investors moved in and out of Bitcoin following the widely expected SEC approval of a Bitcoin ETF.
Alex Saunders, an analyst at Citi, said, “In our view, the crypto market has already moved towards the next narrative, with ETH rallying more than Bitcoin on expectations that crypto’s second-largest token will also rally. ETF may be approved.” A note Friday.
Bitcoin closes a flat week with losses
The SEC is scheduled to deliver a decision on spot ETH ETF applications starting in May. black Rock, invescoArch and VanEck are among the companies in line for approval, as well as Grayscale, which wants to convert its existing Ethereum Trust (ETHE) In an ETF.
Ether lagged Bitcoin in 2023, rising only 90% compared to Bitcoin’s 157%.
Many expected the long-awaited Bitcoin ETF approval to be a sell-off news event, with investors and miners sitting on high unrealized profits as the ETF narrative drove Bitcoin up more than 60% in the past three months. All market participants agree that the price of Bitcoin will benefit from ETFs, but this may take some time as newcomers to crypto become more familiar with the asset and gradually enter the market.
“There is potential for Bitcoin to feature additional prominently in portfolios, although widespread inclusion in portfolios is still some way off,” Saunders said.
elsewhere, litecoinBitcoin, whose value proposition is similar to the original Bitcoin vision of a medium for everyday payments, was another bright spot in the crypto market on Friday and is on pace for a 14% weekly gain.
Crypto equities fell along with Bitcoin. coinbase And micro strategy were down by 5% and 7% respectively. Even miners suffered big losses from Thursday. cleanspark fell 10%, Iris Energy fell more than 14%, Marathon Digital Slipped 12.5% and riot platform 6% retreated.
—CNBC’s Michael Bloom and Nick Wells contributed reporting.
